Strategy
by LizzeXX
Summary: Thor/OC - Loki has been imprisoned in Asgard for crimes committed, leaving Thor and his love, Athena, freedom to explore their growing relationship. But when the Dark Elves attack, they must focus on dealing with the latest threat to Asgard and the peace. What will happen when Malekith hunts the Aether to Asgard? Who will suffer when he comes to seek it? Third in the Heroic Hymns.
1. Imprisonment

A/N: Hola! :) This is my second Thor series, my first Thor/OC, and is the **third story** in the Heroic Hymns, Strategy :) The first story (Humility) is listed under the Thor section of this site while the second (War) is under the Avengers. As fair warning, this will NOT be a Jane/Thor story or a Thor/Sif story ;) This series will be my attempt to incorporate an original character into the Dark World movie. This story will be based around the movie but will also include some original scenes/moments :) This story will be about 10 chapters long, updated daily :)

A brief description of my OC, Athena: She's a tall woman, with pale skin and blonde hair that is a bit long, and gray eyes. She tends to wear her hair half up, half down, but with a bun in the top half. Her bun has a small stick in it that Thor gave her that is really a very delicate dagger. She tends to wear brown leather armor, a breastplate from her brother (along with a stolen sword from another brother), with a coin necklace under it. She has a charm bracelet made by her siblings that she doesn't wear often. For a reference, I picture her to look something like Rosamund Pike :)

I hope you enjoy :)

~8~ is a scene break

Disclaimer...I don't own Thor or things from the movie/comic, just my OC and some original aspects...otherwise I'd be able to buy Sif's armor :)

~8~

Imprisonment

The day had come, it was finally time for Loki's sentencing. The trial had been…upsetting and disturbing and had only reinforced the opinions of the Asgardians that Loki had truly just…lost himself, had let himself fall into the darkness that was always in the brutish Jotuns, and turned himself into a monster. There hadn't been many of them there for it, the Warriors Three and Sif had been present, having been there when they'd all gone to Jotunheim. Frigga was there as well, as Queen and 'mother' to Loki, along with Odin, of course, and Heimdall too. Thor had been standing to the side during it, Athena right beside him, gripping his hand in support, though neither could say who had grabbed whose hand first. Well, she knew it was Thor, but she understood why, it wasn't easy to watch the man who had once been your brother stand trial, even harder to listen to him speaking so vehemently and bitterly against you, your family, your home and people and past and…it had broken Thor's heart to hear how Loki had come to resent him and everyone else.

Frigga had left the hall in tears, hearing the venom that Loki was spewing about everything. She had squeezed Thor's hand and released him, knowing that he wanted to go after his mother, that he truly did not want to stay there and hear more and more about what Loki was saying, currently on the topic of so eloquently describing how pleasant the sound of the man whose eye he'd gouged out's screams were to his ears as he held him down on the table till he stopped moving. Thor had sent him a glare that only made Loki smirk wider before he strode out after their…no, HIS mother. Athena had remained there in Thor's place, listening with a churning stomach to what Loki was saying, of the glee he had in destroying New York, of how he'd now been denied a third kingdom because of the pitiful Asgardians, of how his only regret was that he hadn't killed more mortals and created more destruction and devastation. Odin had been at his wits end at that and banished him to the dungeons to await his decision on the punishment he would be given.

She could tell that it was a difficult think for Odin to bear, to sit there, as rigidly and posture perfect, on his throne and listen to Loki speaking such vile things and the to rein in his anger so that he could try to give himself time to think clearly about what he should do. It was a…tricky situation for all parties involved. A majority of Asgard knew Loki only as their prince, not as a Jotun. But his crimes were very well known and there was the law to consider. It was hard, because the royals of Asgard should not be above the law, but the idea of execution, as was the punishment for such a crime, did not seem feasible in terms of it meaning the death of a prince, 'brother,' and son. And she knew that if Odin ordered the execution of Loki Frigga would never forgive him, which made it equally as difficult a decision to reach.

She was sure that Odin, the moment Loki was done speaking, had wanted to do that terribly, to order his swift execution, but she had seen him glance at her and seem to be reminded of her role, advisor, wise woman, someone meant to keep Thor from making the same rash decisions and had held off. She was…concerned though, it should not have taken Odin looking at her to realize he needed to think this through logically. The Odin that she and Thor had left when they'd gone to Earth to retrieve Loki and the Tesseract, he had been borderline paranoid at times, fearing that betrayal was around each and every corner. It was like his emotions were getting the better of him more and more and the fact that Loki had actually gone and done all that he had of his own freewill with no consideration to Asgard or her welfare or the heart of his mother, it had broken something in him.

She knew well the story of how Odin had come by Loki, he had taken Thor aside, wanting to tell him the whole truth but Thor refused to go or listen if she was not beside him. Her presence, he claimed, both calmed him and gave him strength to hear what his father was going to say and to hear it through to the end. Odin had taken Loki in first as leverage, hoping to use the babe as a sort of bargaining chip with Laufey, to try and create some sort of surrender in the Jotuns, that he would not give back the giant's son if Laufey did not agree to all his terms. Laufey had pulled one on Odin in revealing that Loki was a mere bastard child and that he cared not for the boy and all that had come from that was the reaffirmation of the original treaty, that the Jotuns stayed in Jotunheim and the Asgardians stayed in Asgard.

Odin had then thought that he could raise Loki to be a prince, to be loyal to Asgard so that, when the truth was finally told to him, that he would be willing to take the Jotun throne and that he would create an alliance with Asgard, that he would be able to use the Jotuns like a second army. From what Odin had said, he planned to tell Loki at a young age what he was, to do so gently, so that he would grow up always knowing and unresentful of Odin but feeling a debt to the man for taking him in when his true father hadn't wanted him, to raise him and clothe him and teach him and care for him and that he could return the favor by ruling Jotunheim as a secondary source or resources to Asgard, repaying the debt with riches and strength from the Frost Giants.

But as Loki grew older, Odin said, he grew more attached to the boy, had begun go care for him, had begun to think of him as his own. Seeing Frigga embracing the lad and raising him beside Thor, like brothers…he couldn't bring himself to tell Loki the truth. He had tried, numerous times, he claimed, to set Loki down and tell him, but when his 'son' looked up at him with his wide blue eyes and called him papa or father his heart cracked and he couldn't do it. So he'd kept the truth from Loki, his plans for putting Loki on the throne of Jotunheim started to fade into the background and he began to look at Loki as an Asgardian prince instead of a Jotun one. It had reached the point that he never wanted to tell Loki the truth, that he wanted his boy to remain just that…his boy, his son. He knew as well, by that point, that Thor had gotten to Loki and told him stories about how monstrous and vile and wretched the Frost Giants were and to tell a boy that he WAS one? He couldn't do that to the lad. He had once said that both boys were born to be kings, and it was true, Loki, even as a bastard, could have ruled Jotunheim if Laufey's children were dead. And he had been truthful in saying that only one could ascend the throne, because by then he hadn't even been thinking of returning or sending Loki back to Jotunheim, by then…he was already his son.

This betrayal…it was tearing Thor's family apart and for that, Athena had almost wished that Loki had died falling into the abyss if it would spare them this pain.

And now the betrayal was coming to a head, Odin had made his decision and they were all to gather in the throne room, those who had been there for the trial and the guards, all meant to make sure that Loki didn't try anything or try to harm someone or try to escape. Odin was already waiting in the throne room, on his throne, with Thor standing beside him, the Warriors Three on one side, Heimdall and Sif on the other, but Athena was not inside, not yet. There was someone who had refused to enter, to join Odin till she had had a word with Loki before he entered.

And there he was, the god of mischief himself, walking towards the hall, his wrists and legs bound in chains, chains that wrapped around his chest, a metal collar around his neck with even more chains attached to it that the guards were holding, mimicked with the metal wrapped around his waist with chains too. He was walking slowly, as was expected with how much he was restrained, his skin was paler from his time in the dungeon, his hair only slightly longer than it was in New York.

But it was his expression that had Athena tensing. He didn't look worried at all. She knew what the Allfather's punishment was likely going to be given Loki's relation to the royal family, but it appeared Loki did as well, or he had that much faith in his mother's care for him. But it wasn't even that he was unafraid to face Odin, that he was grinning as though this were all a joke, it was that he didn't seem fazed by what was going on or why this was happening to him. He seemed to give little care or concern to the horrors he had committed both on Midgard and on Asgard, he was perfectly at ease and carefree as well.

Athena took a breath and looked to the woman standing beside her, her arm looped through Athena's, "If you wish to speak, my Lady, it must be now."

"Perhaps it was not what we think," Frigga murmured, her gaze, filled with tears, locked on Loki, "Perhaps he was not manipulated by the Chitauri but…you said they tortured him," she turned to Athena, clutching her arm, "What if this was his means of escape? He must have known that, to attack Midgard, would draw one of our Realm there, that at the very least Heimdall would see him. What if he attacked so that Thor would come reclaim him? What if this was his way of escaping the Chitauri and stopping them taking over the universe and…"

But Athena shook her head, "It was not," she answered quietly. She could see the desperate hope in Frigga's eyes that there was still some way to find Loki innocent, that his entire stint on earth had been an elaborate ruse to return home even if it meant being a prisoner, "There were other ways to attract our attention, other things we would return to Earth for. The Chitauri were trapped at the other end of the universe, Loki could have waited for us to find him and we could have left with the Tesseract, but he chose to attack. He chose to fight," she let out a sad breath, "And he spoke of wishing to have done more harm before," she added, knowing it upset Frigga to hear, but knowing she needed to be reminded of it, "Loki could have explained it all to us if it were true. He wanted to attack Midgard, he wanted to rule it, he wanted to hurt the mortals. I am sorry, my Lady, but…the Loki you raised is gone."

"I refuse to believe that," Frigga whispered.

"Then do not," Athena gave her a nod, knowing that no mother would ever give up the belief that their child was innocent in some way and there was no point in arguing with her or upsetting her more, "But you must speak your missive and speak quickly, the Allfather can only be kept waiting so long."

Frigga nodded, turning back to Loki as he drew nearer, "Loki," she called, pulling his attention to her.

"Hello mother," he cracked a smile at her, "Have I made you proud?"

Frigga's expression fell even more at that and Athena squeezed her hand to offer support at how that question was meant to stab at her and hurt her, "Please," Frigga whispered in a plea to whatever was left of her son, "Don't make this worse."

Loki lifted an eyebrow as though that were the most foolish question he'd ever heard and held up his bound wrists, jingling his chains, "Define worse."

"Enough!" came the shout from Odin within the throne room, the doors opening to reveal the Allfather at the end of the room, on his throne. Loki gave Frigga one more grin before he turned and was led inside, right up to the throne room, Athena and Frigga following behind her. Odin looked down at Loki, seeming more weak and weary and old by the moment, "I will speak to the prisoner alone," he told Frigga, knowing that being around Loki and seeing him like this would upset her terribly.

Loki, for what it was worth, waited till Frigga had left the throne room before he started laughing, "I really don't see what all the fuss is about."

Athena shook her head at him as she moved to stand with Sif and Heimdall, watching the goings on. She knew that Thor had wanted her to stand with him, but she was not his wife nor his queen or betrothed, it was not her place and at times like this, where the laws were in such questionable conditions with the crimes committed and who the criminal was, she couldn't bend the rules more than they already were and not feel guilty about it.

"Do you not truly feel the gravity of your crimes?" Odin stared his former-son down.

It was just as Athena had discussed with him after the trial, when he had sought her out in private for her own opinion of the matter, without Thor there to watch her words around or Frigga near to try and censor the true horrors of what Loki had done. She had told him that she looked in Loki's eyes as often as she could during that time in New York and even on Asgard…and she saw no guilt at all, no burden, no feelings of pity or regret in him for what he'd done. He saw it now, he saw how lightly he was taking this and no one but a true monster would define the loss of life, the destruction of two worlds, and waging war, on top of numerous other crimes as being 'not a big fuss' as Loki had called it and be so flippant about it.

"Wherever you go there is war, ruin and death," he continued.

Loki rolled his eyes at that, "I went down to Midgard to rule the people of Earth as a benevolent God," he cut in, giving Odin a dark smirk, "Just like you."

Athena had to bite her lip from pointing out to Loki that there was a difference between being a distant god that mortals prayed to, that only got involved when there were serious issues about…and being a dictator and ruler on the ground. Odin had never ruled the people like Loki had been planning to do on Earth, he had never tried to force them to their knees and control their will like Loki had. Loki had been planning to slaughter and destroy to get his way instead of being a wise man and a good leader.

"We are not Gods," Odin reminded him, "We are born, we live, we die. Just as humans do."

"Give or take 5,000 years," Loki shrugged.

Odin let out a long sigh, "All this because Loki desired a throne."

"It is my birthright!" Loki snapped and Athena could see Thor's hand on Mjolnir tighten its hold, knowing that his mind had gone to all the lessons they had shared of how to rule wisely. It had been Frigga's idea, she knew, that Loki be taught that alongside Thor. Too many times on earth a second son came to the throne unprepared because he had not been taught how to rule like the firstborn had.

"Your birthright was to die!" Odin shouted just as loudly and Athena understood now why Frigga had been asked to leave, Odin wasn't as emotionally stable as he had been before his Odinsleep ages ago. He might have made his decision on what to do with Loki with a clear head and he would hold to that decision, but what he said in the interim was fair game, "As a child. Cast out onto a frozen rock. If I had not taken you in you would not be here now to hate me."

Loki frowned at that, "If I'm for the axe then for Mercy's sake, just swing it," he grumbled, sounding more annoyed and exasperated than truly frightened, "It's not that I don't love our little talks it's just…I don't love them."

"Frigga is the_ only_ reason you're still alive," Odin told him, emphasizing that. Frigga truly was the ONLY reason he hadn't been sentenced to execution, no one, not even she or Thor had defended Loki or pleaded for Odin's mercy, they all knew that Loki was too dangerous, that if he was willing to do all he had in the past, what else would he do in the future? But Frigga had been insistent and in tears, begging Odin to believe that Loki could be redeemed, begging him to remember that the boy had been raised as his son even if father and son no longer saw themselves as such, "And you'll never see her again. You'll spend the rest of your days in the dungeon."

"And what of Thor?" Loki's glance drifted to Thor, "You'll make that witless oaf King while I rot in chains?" he sneered at his former-brother.

Athena felt a small smile creep its way onto her face when Thor didn't react, didn't let on a single emotion on what he was feeling at those words, at the utter hatred in Loki's voice, merely stood there beside his father, supporting his decision with his silence, and proving himself a wiser and more capable king than Loki could hope to be. He had learned to control his anger and he had learned to hold his tongue, to not rise to the bait, to not let his jealousy or other baser emotions control him and his actions.

Odin straightened at the slight against his firstborn and true heir, "Thor must strive to undo the damage you have done. He'll bring order to the Nine Realms and then, yes, he _will_ be King."

Odin stood and banged Mjolnir against the floor and the guards turned, leading Loki away, Odin remaining there for only a moment, only till the doors closed behind Loki, the Warriors Three and Sif going with the guards to ensure that Loki would make it to the dungeons without incident. Odin turned and strode out of the room, Heimdall giving a bow to Thor and a nod to Athena before he turned and left the room, needing to get back to his post at the Bifrost Entrance. The Bifrost controls had been refashioned and were being tested as they spoke, Heimdall was overseeing them, making sure that nothing was going to go wrong and ensure that the passages between realms could be recreated.

That just left her and Thor alone in the throne room.

Athena watched with a small smile as Thor finally let out the breath she knew he'd been holding before he stepped forward, seeming about to sit on Odin's throne as the weariness hit him, before catching himself at the last minute and moving to sit on the top step that led up to it instead, placing Mjolnir beside him and leaning in to rest his elbows on his knees, his head in his hand. She shook her head and made her way up the steps, moving to sit on the other side of him, pulling her sword from its sheath and setting it down beside her, making Thor look up at the small clinking noise the metal made on the stone. He glanced at her a moment, a small smile coming to his face at her action and how she was mimicking him, making them both even as they sat there, unarmed.

It was symbolic of sorts, or it had become such for them. Mjolnir, ever since Thor's return to Asgard, had become a symbol for how he was going to be the next king, how he was the prince, how he was meant to use the hammer to protect his people, to help build up the kingdom, and help defend it from the enemies it made. It was a symbol of his royal heritage, of his title, more so than it was just his preferred weapon of choice. It was similar to a crown to him, it was heavier than it was meant to be in his hands, a symbol of his future as a king, of the responsibilities he would need to bear. Whenever he set it down…it was his way of trying to show that, at that moment, he wanted to set aside his burdens and just…be Thor, not the Prince of Asgard, but just…Thor. So she would do the same, she would set her sword aside to show him, in that moment, she didn't want to be the future Advisor (or possibly future Queen as Sif loved to tease her about) but just be seen as Athena. It was how they understood each other, they were just being themselves, who they were without titles when they set their chosen weapons down.

She reached out and looped her left arm through his right lightly, leaning on him slightly as he turned towards her, looking at her with a small smile, resting his forehead to hers, looking in her eyes for a moment before he closed his and let out a long breath. Athena kept her eyes open as she just looked at him, able to see the tension in his face, it was harder than he was letting on, to be strong, to not act like a small part of him wasn't feeling the sting of his 'brother's' betrayal all over again. He was trying to be strong, to make it seem like he wasn't affected, because if he let on that he felt sympathy for his former-brother, that he didn't want to see him locked away (or executed) for fear of others thinking he'd be biased towards his ruling. Odin had already proven that he was biased in this decision to keep Loki alive. The man had committed crimes worthy of execution by Asgardian law but he was merely being detained instead. All for Frigga. But she also could see the relief in his eyes, that Odin was the king, that this and whatever might come of Loki being alive, would be on Odin's head. He was relieved that HE hadn't had to make the decision to banish or execute or imprison the man he had always thought was his blood-brother. She supposed it was slightly easier on Odin, no matter how much he loved Loki, he had always known that the man was a Jotun, that he wasn't his biological son, how he favored Thor and focused on him as his heir made more sense now. But Odin had known all along, Thor had been raised to see Loki as only his brother. It would have killed him to have to execute Loki had he been king.

She reached up her right hand to touch his cheek, gently stroking her thumb along his stumble till he opened his eyes and just looked at her. He offered her a small smile for her efforts, he had told her once, when he'd been half delirious from an infected battle wound, that he loved it when she stroked his stubble, that it made his entire body tingle (she had laughed quite loudly at the almighty Thor using the word 'tingle' in quite a slurred manner). She knew that it soothed him, and all she wanted to do was just try and ease his spirits, comfort him.

"Loki lives," he murmured to her, "I…do not know how to feel about it," he admitted.

"It is fine to be conflicted Thor," she told him, "He did terrible feats and you recognize that. Had you been in Odin's place, I have no doubt that you would do what was necessary to protect your people, regardless of your parents' wishes."

She was almost entirely certain of it. She and Thor had accepted in New York, that what Loki had done had been entirely his own doing and of his own conscience. It was one thing to be the one to make that revelation, and another to be told it. THEY had seen the evidence of it before their very eyes, they knew Loki differently than Frigga or Odin did. The Warriors Three and Sif, they would have been ready for Loki's execution for how he'd betrayed Asgard, they would have no sympathy for how he'd harmed his family in what he'd done. She and Thor would do so with a knowledge that Loki had been lost to them a long time ago. It was harder for Frigga to let go.

And, despite what Loki had done, and despite the brutal reality that Thor had been hit with in knowing that his brother was nothing more than a monster, she knew a small part of him would still think of Loki as the brother he had been. That part of him, though, would NEVER allow Loki to get away with anything, it would never accept excuses for him, and it would never trust Loki again, but it would still remember that, for a time, Loki HAD been a brother. And that part would feel guilt for what happened to Loki.

"But it cannot erase the centuries you both spent as brothers," she continued, "Betrayal from family is…" she shook her head, "It is hard to forgive and forget, because it hurts more than any other betrayal, and you can never look at them the same way. But it will never block the fact that they ARE family. So long as you never allow it to cloud your judgment and you never allow them to use their relation against you…it is alright to feel saddened over the turn of events."

Thor looked at her, shaking his head slightly, "I often forget," he remarked, "That you have family troubles of your own," he reached up his free hand to touch her cheek as well, "One day I should like to meet them."

"Not all of them," she laughed, "I've…quite the big family," she warned with a small smile.

"I should still wish to meet them, the men and women, the brothers and sisters and aunts and uncles that made you who you are," he gazed into her eye, "I don't think I could endure this if not for your support Athena, your understanding. Loki is my brother," he swallowed, "And he has betrayed us all."

Athena moved her hand from his face to her own, taking his hand off her cheek and just holding it, lowering it to their laps, squeezing it. This was a new level of intimacy they had developed, just sitting so close, small touches, they were used to wrestling, to full on physical contact or to lighter touches to the arm or back, but this…it was like they were connected, when their arms were entwined and sitting so close, their heads resting to each other's and staring the other directly in the eye, their faces so close they could feel each other's breath on their cheeks. It was new and different and she loved it very much.

"I fear…" he began again, his voice growing quieter with what she could hear was guilt and fear, "I fear that…if my own brother could betray me…"

"Who else will?" she finished for him, nodding, "I understand that. Every time my family fights, whenever one of us betrays the other, I…it made me close myself off to others all the more," she pulled away slightly to look at him fully, "You are…truly the first person I have opened up to, the first man I am…trusting," she took a breath, "With everything," she squeezed his hand, looking right in his eyes so he would see the truth in them, "I know what it is and how it feels to be betrayed by those you care for and love Thor, and I…I promise you, on my honor as a warrior, on my blade, on my life," she swallowed hard, "I will NEVER betray you."

Thor leaned in, hearing the truth of her words, and pressed his lips to hers, knowing that she understood the promise was the same for him to her even if he didn't say it out loud. She had been in Asgard for so long and she had told him that her family was healing from the pains they caused each other, right now it was him who needed the reassurance and the promise, the betrayal and sting was far too fresh and her comfort…that was what he needed right now, her comfort and her presence and her promise of trust and fidelity.

From the doorway to the throne room, a lone figure smiled lightly at the sight of the two so entwined and connected, their heart so light and relieved at the promise given to Thor, taking one more moment to look upon them before turning to leave them in their privacy.

At least one of her sons had found his way.

A/N: Bit of a long/extended version of the opening scene, but I really wanted to establish a lot for Thor and Athena and how they're handling the situation :)

Some notes on reviews...(from the end of War)...

I'm sort of half and half, I like Loki and Thor equally :)

From what I saw of the first Hulk remake films, they didn't really catch my interest, I do like MR's portrayal of Banner, but I'm not sure if it would be enough to do a Banner/OC story :/ I'm actually planning to make a wattpad within the next 2 weeks, but only because 3 people have plagiarized me on wattpad so far and now I feel obligated to make one there so that my real stories and real profile is made :( But the only problem is that I would only be posting the first chapter of all my stories there and not the complete stories, I really want to keep all the main reading done on one site (FF) and more to make the wattpad (and Quotev) sites like a bridge into reading it here, like a spark of interest and then a link to the rest of the story sort of thing. Only because I truly don't think I can keep up with updating three sites each time I put a chapter, some days that may mean 3 or even 4 chapters and to do that on each site is a bit much :(

I attempted one story where the torture was more detailed and also used the Tesseract's control to explain what Loki was doing and since I did one version like that I wanted to try another at the opposite end of the spectrum of 'what ifs' and things :) I think the pain could be from that, but there was also hints of pain before he was confronted by Steve and Tony that were semi-unexplained and made me feel like perhaps the Chitauri were responsible for that :(

I always felt so bad for Banner, I felt like MF really did a great job making the audience subtly aware that Banner was suffering even when not angry and wanted to include that :( But thanks! I'm glad you're enjoying the stories :) If there wasn't a threat for copyright with the stories, I'd SO publish them, right now I'm just working on some original stories to hopefully one day publish, but I'll definitely let everyone know and post it everywhere if I ever got published ;)

Those are some very cool actresses :) I picture Rosamund Pike :)


	2. The Pressures of a Prince

The Pressures of a Prince

Athena winced as she and Thor landed on the fields of Vanaheim, Hogun's home, she hadn't expected quite a harsh landing as that, but the Bifrost was still being tinkered with, the controls now in place and recreated but still needing some tweaking here and there to assist with the landings. She should be thankful though that they had ended up where they had, that the coordinates for landing were now functioning. She and Thor had been to a few of the Nine Realms so far, helping to restore the peace and stability. A few were in near revolt, building armies to prepare for what they feared would be Asgard attacking them. What Loki had done to Jotunheim had resonated through the Nine Realms that made up the World Tree and even beyond. The worlds were in constant fear that the Bifrost would be used to destroy them as Loki had attempted on the Jotuns. She and Thor had had to approach the rulers of those realms with peace offerings, had had to negotiate treaties for Thor to sign and try to regain the trust that the worlds had in Asgard because of it all. They had also been to Earth, only briefly, never to stay long but only to contact Fury and offer some of the treasures of Asgard, mostly gold and other metals, to them as payment for the destruction that Loki had created in New York.

But some realms, like Vanaheim, they were suffering another fate. There were some Realms who were allies of Asgard, almost like vassals, they pledge loyalty to Asgard and, in return, Asgard protected them. With all the hassle and focus on Loki and repairing the destruction around, those realms had fallen to the wayside slightly. Enough where certain groups of vagrants thought they could attack and that Asgard would be too focused elsewhere to send help to them, that they'd be vulnerable and easily plundered. And that was exactly the situation that Thor and Athena found themselves in now, arriving on Vanaheim to see a battle raging around them. Heimdall had sent messengers to Thor as he, Athena, and Odin had stood in the war room, more like a conference room, discussing whether they should even attempt to help Jotunheim for a distance, when the messenger had warned them of the attack going on in Vanaheim. The Warriors Three and Sif were already there, having rushed off with Hogun who had bolted for the Bifrost the moment he heard his people were in danger, but they would need help. Apparently, marauders had come to raid the people and they were desperately trying to hold them back.

Thor hadn't even waited for Odin's blessing before he and Athena were racing off towards the Bifrost and launching themselves at Vanaheim, they both knew that Odin would understand and have wanted them to go there, Vanaheim were their oldest allies and they were meant to be protected, it was Asgard's duty to do so.

Thor tightened his grip around Athena's waist, steadying her from the landing before they both parted and began to join the fray around them, swinging their swords and hammers and shields around to try and stop the marauders that were slowly overwhelming the people, forcing the civilians to flee in terror, trying to escape the destruction. They knew the battle hadn't been going on long, the messenger had come to get them the moment Heimdall saw it start, stopping only to inform Hogun on the way. So it truly was a shock to them both just how brutal the fighting had gotten in just that short a time. There were buildings and huts on fire, trees toppling, structures crumbling around them, men and women already dead on the ground and the warriors doing their best to help, but already looking bruised as though they'd been fighting for hours on end.

Sif whirled around when she heard a thump behind her to see one of the marauders fall onto his face, a small, fine, dagger sticking out of the back of his head, a dagger she recognized as the one that Athena kept in her hair, to see that Athena and Thor had joined them. She hadn't even heard the Bifrost deposit them, too focused on the battle and her heart beating in her ears, "I've got this completely under control!" she shouted to them.

"Yes," Athena stabbed one of the marauders and pulled her sword out, turning to Sif for a moment, "Because control means everything aflame."

Sif turned and made her way through the marauders, trying to take out as many as she could, when she saw an arrow heading for Thor's back and quickly lifted her shield, stopping it, getting it caught in it. Thor turned to her, hearing the thunk to see her lowering the shield, "You're welcome," she gave him a pointed look.

The three of them whirled around, hearing a roar in the distance that had all the marauders stopping their fighting and scurrying back to one side of the field, seeming as though they were either retreating or regrouping, when they saw a large creature, like a troll made of rocks, making its way through the marauders. One of the other Asgardian warriors that had come to help upon news of Vanaheim's attack, tried to rush at the rock-troll, but was swatted away easily.

Sif blinked and looked at Thor, "All yours."

Thor let out a breath, sounding more exasperated than anything and stepped forward to meet the rock-troll head on. He paused before it, watching as it smashed a club in its hand to the ground and frowned, looking up at it, eyeing it, observing it, studying it, making Athena give a small smile as she saw him actually looking for a weakness like she would have. She knew Thor was a man who favored using brute strength and instinct in battle, but she knew he was starting to take time to observe what sort of battle was going on around him, whether it was one where he could afford to fight, where they were distant from other people and no one else stood a chance of getting hurt, where the enemy could be beaten into submission…or if it was a fight that had to be dealt with quickly, for the sake of others, where the leader had to be taken down fast so that the opponent would be weakened. This was just the second situation, there were innocents around them, there were homes that were being destroyed and resources being stolen and it had to be finished NOW. And Thor…he was trying to find the way to take the creature out in the fewest blows, to show that, if HE, just one man, could take out what appeared to be the marauder's secret weapon, then their army stood no chance and they would likely surrender or, at the very least, be dealt with easily.

"Hello," Thor offered the rock-troll, only making it roar, "I accept your surrender."

The rock-troll went to smash and roar at Thor once more, but Thor just swung Mjolnir back and up, taking the hammer through the bottom of the creature's jaw and smashing him apart entirely in just one blow, knocking its head off and causing the rock body to fall apart.

He looked down at it for a moment before glancing at the marauders, all of whom appeared completely stunned that he'd been able to take the rock-troll out, "Anyone else?"

Athena smiled as the Marauders merely set their weapons down, getting on their knees in surrender, "Well done Thor," she told him gently, so proud of him for handling it the way he had. She could still hear echoes in her mind of when they'd gone to Jotunheim the first time, how he had just taken out Jotun after Jotun and cheered out 'next!' like it was all some sort of game to him, the bloodlust of battle taking him. But here he was, calm, looking at the army and asking 'anyone else' not as if he were challenging them, as if he saw them as a game or opponent to finish…but sounding like he genuinely did NOT want to have to fight any others. And that…that was exactly what Odin had been speaking to him about since he was a child, a king was ready for war but never tried to provoke it. Thor had come here, ready for battle, but he wasn't trying to prolong it or encourage it, merely end it.

"Perhaps next time we should START with the big one?" Fandral called to them, making Thor give a small chuckle and shake his head before he and the others began to walk around, helping gather the debris and try to start repairs while the other Asgardian warriors moved to restrain the marauders and lead them out to the Bifrost for punishment from Odin for their crimes.

~8~

Thor stood at a balcony overlooking the training yard where the warriors and soldiers and guards were practicing and being trained in various weapons. They had managed to save Vanaheim from the marauders but Hogun had remained behind with his people. It wasn't necessary for him to return to Asgard despite the loyalty and debt he felt to the Asgardians. Peace had been established in nearly all the Nine Realms and there didn't seem to be any sort of threat that was likely to arise in the near future. It was more doing damage control from Loki than fearing another enemy would appear. He knew that Hogun was worried for his people, he would not have run off without the order being given from him or from Odin allowing him to go to Vanaheim if he hadn't genuinely been concerned for his homeland. He couldn't, in good conscience, ask or even allow the man back to Asgard when he knew his heart was in Vanaheim. He knew well enough from experience that when the heart and mind were at war, things never went well for anyone. He wanted Hogun to return only when his people were safe and recovering and when he felt comfortable with leaving. Hogun might feel guilt for not returning with Thor, as he had pledged his allegiance to Asgard, but Thor knew he'd feel even more guilt if he left his home in ruins and didn't try to help them. So they had all returned back to Asgard except for Hogun.

He had left them to go make sure that the marauders had been dealt with as per the laws, had been imprisoned to await trial, before he headed to the training yard, knowing that would be where his friends and Athena had gone. After every good, but small battle, the adrenaline was always present and he knew that they would be jittery and anxious all night long if they were not able to expend some of that energy and while he could think of a more pleasant and intimate way for him and Athena to expend it (wrestling in private or having a spar with each other where others couldn't see) he couldn't help but smile as he saw her and Sif dueling themselves. They both had a rather advanced looking sword, with a sort of blade made of pure energy in the shape of a sword blade, fighting each other with determination but with smiles on their faces.

He had seen Athena take Sif down, onto her back with the blade right at her neck after a few minutes of hard dueling. And he felt himself laugh (and covered it with a cough upon Athena's mock-glare) when Sif managed to get a hold of Athena's wrist holding her sword and hold it firm while she turned her own sword to right across Athena's throat, winning that match. While the swords appeared to be dangerous, being made of such energy, they were rather harmless. The energy, when in contact with an equal and similar force, like another energized sword, would react as though metal on metal, a force to push against it, a blow made. But when it came in contact with anything else, the energy passed through it harmlessly, leaving only a tingling sensation in the area it had touched so that the opposing warrior would know that they had been struck.

They were currently on their third spar, or the third round that he'd seen, when Odin came up beside him, watching the warriors for a moment, before he spoke to his son, "Is Vanaheim secure?"

Thor almost flinched at that, he had forgotten to find his father and give his report on the situation. He'd been so focused on the marauders and then seeking out Athena, that he had forgotten to relate to his father the outcome of their battle. He nodded, "As are Nornheim and Ria. But our work would have gone more quickly with you at the fore," he glanced at his father.

He was…worried, as was Athena he knew, that his father was becoming more king than warrior. It was a delicate balance in their culture, to be both a warrior and a king. Odin had once told him that he was thinking more like a warrior than a king when he had wanted to go to Jotunheim after his coronation had been interrupted. Now though, it appeared his father was thinking more like a king instead of a warrior. It wasn't a bad thing, but it left Thor feeling that his father was starting to forget the devastation that came with battle. Lately he had been sending him and Athena to different realms and worlds to offer gold as restitution for the harm that Loki had caused instead of sending support and warriors and builders. Odin was using the wealth of Asgard instead of its other resources to make amends instead of seeming to think about the people involved.

"You must think I'm a piece of bread that needs to be buttered so heavily," Odin chuckled.

"That was not my intent," Thor shook his head, seeing that his intentions had been lost on his father, he wasn't trying to praise him, he was trying to remind him what it meant to be at war and in the heat of battle. Even when Odin had gone to Jotunheim after them, he had been atop his horse, he had held Gungnir high, and he hadn't exactly fought anything, merely gotten in and out. It had been…millennia since his father had truly fought hard, he felt.

"For the first time since the Bifrost was destroyed, the Nine Realms are at peace," Odin smiled, looking at Thor, "We are well reminded of our strength and you have earned their respect and my gratitude."

"Thank you," Thor gave a small nod.

"Nothing out of order except your confused and distracted heart," Odin gave him a small, knowing look, his smile growing when Thor's glance flickered to Athena.

"I know not what you mean Father," Thor tried to cover it, clearing his throat and focusing on the battle, though he felt a smile grow when Athena got Sif onto her back once more…only for Sif to swing out her leg and take Athena down with her, the two women not getting up but just laying there, laughing.

Odin observed his son, "It has taken you many years, my son, to realize what lies in front of you," Odin began cautiously and cryptically, "I'm speaking to you not at the Allfather, but as _your_ father. You are ready. The time has come to take the Throne. Embrace it and celebrate what you have won. Join your warriors, eat and drink. Revel in their celebration with your love and know this Thor," he reached out and put a hand on Thor's shoulder, "SHE is ready as well," he gave Athena one more glance before he turned and left Thor to his thoughts, watching as Athena stood and held a hand to Sif to help her up as well, the two women resuming their duel as Thor looked on both wondering how his father knew his intentions with Athena and also wondering if he might be right.

~8~

Thor was sitting in a Tavern, doing as his father had suggested, enjoying the celebration of their victory in Vanaheim. Athena, who had been sitting beside him for most of the time, was over by Volstagg at the moment, standing nearby, her arms crossed, the two of them seeming to be debating something while a few other women sat around Volstagg and laughed at his tales. He grabbed a goblet and threw it to the ground with a cry of 'Another!' before looking at Athena as though he were trying to get her approval but she was just shaking her head with a small smile and Thor could see her saying 'Thor hasn't done that in ages!' He felt a small smile come to his own face as he watched her and Volstagg, Volstagg rolling his eyes and grabbing a drumstick to munch on. Fandral came sauntering by to stand beside Athena but a respectable distance away from her, not touching her like Thor knew he would be doing for so many other women standing that close to him.

He had…had a discussion (duel) with Fandral about how he typically acted and requested (threatened) that he tone it down around Athena. Fandral had, somehow, managed to laugh even shoved against the wall and half dangling a foot above the ground and clapped him on the arm with a cheer of 'finally!' Apparently Fandral had made it his life's mission from the moment he saw them dueling when Athena first arrived, to try and see them together. For how often he flirted with other women and for how 'deeply' he was in love with himself, he claimed he could see love a mile away and he knew just from their first meeting that they would one day grow close to each other and become something unstoppable. It had been his way of trying to goad Thor and make him jealous to flirt with Athena around him. But Fandral had acquiesced to his request and had been nothing but respectful to Athena since then, conscious, at all times, that Thor was likely nearby.

He was…pleased, that his friends had come to accept him and Athena like they were and that they were not unhappy with the new arrangement. The Warriors Three and Sif had been his friends for so long, they had always been a unit, and when Athena had come, first it was Sif who accepted her, then Fandral, Volstagg had taken to her after she had helped participate in a drinking competition (and lost terribly) but Volstagg respected her for it, Hogun…he honestly wasn't sure when the man had come to accept her, he never really said anything out loud, but then again he hadn't said anything against her either so he was just grateful that Hogun was alright with her becoming closer to them all. And then, when he had made his declaration to her of his feelings and they became more than just friends and entered into a deeper courtship, he had feared, for only a moment, that the group would become awkward, that he was emotionally attached to Athena in a way he wasn't and couldn't be to the others. But they were all rather happy about it and, he'd later found out, taking bets about when they would finally come clean to each other. It had been amusing to see Athena chasing Fandral down like a child when she found out he had been the instigator of the pool, but all was well for them.

He did worry though, what the group would become when he was king. He would no longer be their peer but their ruler. True, he was their prince already, but they had all known each other so long that they saw him as a warrior first. If he became the king, that would be harder than ever to overlook. And what would happen when he revealed the queen of his choice? Suddenly their group wouldn't be the Warriors Three, the Valkyries, and the Prince of Asgard, but…the Warriors Three, the Lady Sif, and the Rulers of Asgard and that felt more like their group breaking apart than them being a unified front.

He sighed and stood, moving to stand by one of the back balconies to stare out into the night's sky. He heard someone approach and, for a moment, thought it was Athena, but the footsteps were just slightly heavier and he knew that they were Sif's. Both women were the same shape and weight, but Sif walked with more purpose, like she had more to prove and, he was sure, she felt she did. She had been one of the first female warriors before Athena had joined them and they both helped open the doorway for more women to join them.

"There was a time when you would celebrate for weeks," Sif began.

"I remember you celebrating the battle of Haragon so much that you nearly started a second," Thor gave her a look.

"Well the first was so much fun," she laughed, making him smile, "I should think, though, that there may be something else you wish to have celebrated more than this?" she gave him a suspicious look.

"And what makes you say this?" he looked at her, both confused and concerned, his gaze flickering to Athena who was still speaking to Volstagg and Fandral, though it appeared that both men were attempting to keep her attention away from him, for which he was thankful.

"Woman's gift," Sif shrugged, "We are rather intuitive about the men around us. And…I am your friend Thor," she reminded him, "I have known you since I was a child, I know when there is something weighing on your mind and the fact that it still is, that I see it so frequently, it is something you haven't spoken to Athena about, or something you feel you cannot speak to her about. And," she smiled, "There is not much you do not tell her. Why do you wait to speak with her about such a thing?"

Thor let out a long breath, knowing that Sif (and likely his father) was aware of what was plaguing his thoughts about Athena, but she appeared willing to keep her silence about it, "It is a…difficult task to undertake," he began, "I do not want to fail in seeing it through."

Sif nodded slowly, the smallest of smiles on her face as she fought to keep it off, understanding that he wished to handle this delicately, for Athena's sake. She turned, looking out at the sky with him, "It does not go unnoticed that you disappear each night, nor the many places you go," she warned him, "There are Nine Realms. The future King of Asgard must focus on more than one, but four eyes are always better than two," she gave him a meaningful look, "But it is a wonder how much four eyes can see when not looking for the sake of a mission or task. Often things are more clear when a mind is at peace and body relaxed."

Thor smiled, understanding what Sif was getting at and nodded, "I thank you for your sword and for your counsel, good Lady Sif," he gave her a nod of the head and turned, heading into the tavern once more, Sif watching with a smile as he approached Athena and whispered something to her before he took her hand and led her away.

~8~

"Thor where are we going?" Athena asked as she walked beside him leisurely down the Rainbow Bridge that led to the new Bifrost controls, the new structure that had been built at the end of it for Heimdall to use to keep watch on all things in all Realms.

"I was reminded that, since Loki's return, we have done nothing but try to maintain the peace," Thor began, "We have fought and negotiated and brought peace offerings to the Nine Realms."

"Yes…" she nodded slowly, not sure where he was going with this.

"The Realms are largely at peace now," he continued, "Loki is imprisoned, and…there is no threats at the moment."

"Ok?" she shook her head, "But what has that to do with anything?"

Thor stopped walking halfway down the Bridge and turned to her, taking her hands, "I want us…to have a moment, just one moment of peace," he told her, "I want us to be able to breathe and be together without the burdens of watching all the Realms and to be constantly called upon. I want to go with you, to any of the Realms, just us, and just…be us."

She blinked, "But what of Asgard?" she frowned, making him smile though for how she was concerned for his kingdom.

"I am not the king," Thor stated, "Not yet, father can maintain Asgard till we return and the Warriors and Sif they can beware for any threats that might come towards us and we shall return instantly if any do," he promised, squeezing her hands, "I do not mean to abandon my people, they were well cared for and there is peace enough to last only a day or so. That is want I want Athena, just…one day, for us to spend without the threats and endless tasks and everything else that burdens us."

Athena smiled, seeing how much he really did want this. She had noticed that he was more quiet than normal, more thoughtful at times. She would walk into a room and see him sitting there with a frown of concentration on his face, staring ahead into space, just quietly thinking, not even aware of her till she touched his arm or spoke to him. She wished to know what was consuming his thoughts like this, but she didn't want to pry. He never delved into the things she wished not to speak of and so she didn't pry with him. They were both of the mentality that, if asked and an answer was not given, then it was not a topic to be shared at that moment. They had no doubts that it would be explained in the future, but for that moment, not to bring it up. And if they offered information or thoughts about something then it was a safe topic. If he chose not to speak of his thoughts then it was something he wished to keep in his own mind for the present time.

But she also knew that he was feeling tense, stretched between his duties as a prince and his role as a son and his time as a warrior, the expectations being put upon him were weighing him down. She knew that Odin wished for Thor to take over the throne, he had come to her and asked her opinion on if Thor was ready for the throne and she had agreed wholeheartedly that he was, contrary to how she had viewed him before he'd been banished to Earth. She could see a maturity in him now that a king needed to have. She was sad and hurt for him that he had to experience such losses as his home and his brother, to nearly lose his father and friends and her, for such a maturity to grow, but she saw how it had changed him, shaped him into a wise and good-hearted, thoughtful king, and she couldn't be more proud of him.

Odin had seemed pleased but even though she knew Thor was ready for the throne, she knew that Thor himself did not want to take it up just yet. He still felt there were things he had to make up for from his time as prince and, until he came to terms with them, he wouldn't think himself ready. Perhaps a day or two alone, without worrying about his title or duties or expectations would be just what he needed to realize he was the king that Asgard needed.

"Then let us away," she smiled, squeezing his hands in return, "Wherever you wish to go Thor, I will always be beside you."

"I hope that you shall always be as well," he murmured, giving her a more serious look than the words required, something more lingering in his gaze than a mere hope that she would agree to go on a trip with him, "Come," he dropped one of her hands and they turned to continue walking to the Bifrost controls.

"You're late," Heimdall remarked as they approached, not even needing to turn around to see them.

"Merriment can sometimes be a heavier burden than battle," Thor remarked wisely, especially when a different sort of merriment was warranted but unexpressed or premature. He didn't even bother to ask Heimdall how he knew they were coming or if he knew where they wanted to go, Heimdall was very observant and he was sure that he had seen or heard his conversation with Sif and could guess his plans.

"How fare the stars Heimdall?" Athena asked with a small smile.

"Still shining," Heimdall answered, "From here I can see Nine Realms and ten trillion souls," he stepped back and moved to the controls of the Bifrost, placing his sword into them, "You recall what I told you of the Convergence?" he glanced at Thor.

"The alignment of the worlds?" Athena frowned a moment, she had only heard of that briefly, but it appeared Thor knew more as he nodded.

"The universe hasn't seen this marvel since before my watch began," Heimdall sighed, "Few can sense it, even fewer can see it. But while it's effects can be dangerous, it is truly beautiful."

Thor frowned and looked at the opening of the Bifrost, not yet activated, just the stars beyond, "I see nothing."

"Or perhaps that is not the beauty you seek?" Heimdall's lips quirked up in a small smirk.

Thor laughed at that, "I have all the beauty beside me Heimdall. I have no need to seek it elsewhere."

"How are the humans on Earth?" Athena asked as she always did either before or after she used the Bifrost with Thor. She had come to be fond of quite a few of them and she always wanted to check in.

"They are well," Heimdall nodded, "Your heroic friends keep evil at bay," he began, remarking on the Avengers, "While the mortals..."

"Jane?" Athena offered, "Erik and Darcy?"

Heimdall hummed, "This Jane is quite clever. She doesn't know it yet, but she studies the Convergence as well. Even…" he trailed off, his small smile starting to fade as he began to frown in concentration.

"What?" Thor stiffened.

Heimdall looked at them, alarmed, "I can't see her."

Thor and Athena glanced at each other, a grim look coming to their faces knowing it wasn't normal for a mortal to be unseen by Heimdall.

It seemed their leisurely trip would have to wait.

A/N: I'm sorry there was no chapter yesterday :( I think it was the most busy day of my entire life lol. But I'm nearly back to updating at my normal times so that's one good thing ;)

Aww, poor Thor and Athena having to postpone their plans, but evil waits for no one :( Seems like quite a few people know something about Thor and Athena that Athena doesn't know, wonder what that could be...hmmm... }:)

Some notes on reviews...

Yup :) She played Jane :)

Sorry! 1 plagiarism on wattpad, 3 on Quotev, I got them mixed up :( The 3 on Quotev were one by someone claiming to be my cousin (who was not) and posting my Academic Series stories, another who 'claimed' their sister had gotten onto their account and started to post my Lunar Cycle series with minor changes, and the last was someone who first PMed me to ask permission to post my HOTS stories and said they would not post my stories without my consent...and then posted them 4 days later without my consent :( But it's ended up being 1 wattpad, 3 Quotev, 9 on FF (3 being done by the same person) for a total of 13 plagiarisms in 1.5 years :( My first 3 DW series were hit most, but there was also 1 against my Sherlock series and 1 against my Supernatural series :(


	3. Unseen Dangers

Unseen Dangers

It hadn't even been a question, the decision to travel to earth and see what had happened to Jane. The fact that Heimdall was alarmed that he could no longer see Jane had disturbed them. They knew that there was only two possible explanations for it and neither of them were very reassuring to Thor or Athena as they landed on Earth in a slightly more stable landing than they had on Vanaheim. The first possibility was that Jane had…died, that she was no longer alive for Heimdall to see her. But given how sudden it was and how surprised the man had been that Jane was gone, it made them feel like he had only been looking towards her moments ago and that, in a blink, she was gone. That was the second possibility and the one they were more concerned about, for her to disappear just like that would mean that there was something unnatural (by mortal standards) going on and they should be there to check on it. Mortals did not just disappear with no explanation and, given all that Loki had done to upset the Earth, it was only fair that they go and check, if just to ensure it wasn't Loki's doing, some sort of failsafe he'd put in place. And, if it was the first instance…well, they had to be there for Erik and Darcy, to ensure that they were alright, to help give Jane the honor she deserved for having helped them in the past.

They were hopeful though, that it was the second option, even if it was, in a way, the more difficult option to deal with. It would be hard, if Jane was really dead, they would have lost a good friend. But it would be difficult if the girl was missing or kidnapped. That could mean a time restraint on them, to find her before she was harmed or killed. It would mean needing to track her down and find out where she was, who had taken her, why they had taken her. SHIELD might possible need to get involved as, from what they knew, Jane was working with them now and was one of their scientific agents, though she was slightly more distanced from them than other agents were. If they weren't careful in how they dealt with her capture, it could mean war for not just the earth but Asgard and her allies as well and that would not be something that anyone wanted, especially not after having just managed to garner some sort of peace between the Realms.

But they wouldn't know till they were on Earth so they'd gone there immediately. They knew, if Odin had to ask, that Heimdall would only say that they had gone to investigate a disturbance possibly left over from Loki for, as far as they knew, it could very well be that. Athena had a suspicion that that would have been the excuse that Heimdall would have given Odin if anyone asked why they had both disappeared so randomly and suddenly for a brief time.

They looked around as the Bifrost disappeared from depositing them on Earth to see they appeared to be in a rather rundown area, abandoned, with a large building next to them, with a walkway through the bottom of it. It was raining though they hardly noticed it, having trained and fought in worse conditions allowed them to overlook the weather conditions for the most part. They couldn't understand why they were there though. They understood that Heimdall had sent them to the last place he had clearly seen Jane, but…why was JANE there? That was what they were unsure about.

They returned their attention to the building beside them, taking a step towards the small walkway, able to hear two women speaking, and paused, now able to see them, see Jane and Darcy standing there, talking to each other.

"We had a stable gravitational anomaly!" Jane was shouting, sounding both irritated and exasperated, "We had unimpeded access! Our only competition was ten years old!""Jane!" Darcy huffed, seemingly just able to get a word in to what appeared to be a rant from Jane, "You were gone for five hours!"

Jane seemed startled by that, as did the two immortals, "What?" Jane frowned.

"Thor," Athena began, squinting through the rain, "Do you see rain falling by Jane?"

Thor glanced at Athena a moment, about to say that yes he did because it was raining everywhere and that Jane and Darcy were clearly outside…but he knew that Athena wouldn't ask him something like that without cause and turned to look back at Jane once more. He straightened though when he noticed why Athena had asked that…there was no rain falling around Jane. It was almost as though there were some sort of extension out the walkway that was preventing the rain from falling on the two women who were completely dry from the water…but the way that Darcy and Jane were now looking up and around at the rain, it was all too clear that even THEY were shocked the rain wasn't falling around them.

They watched as Jane began to look around, as though trying to find the cause for the lack of rain, when her gaze landed on them, standing there just on the other side of the walkway. Jane's eyes widened as she started to walk towards them, but their frowns grew when they saw that, once Jane was far enough away, the rain began to fall on Darcy again, which meant that whatever force it was that was keeping the rain from falling was following Jane and Jane alone. All they could think was that it had to be something to do with how Heimdall had been unable to see her and how Darcy claimed she had disappeared as well.

"Jane," Athena greeted the woman with a nod.

Jane just stared at them a moment, like she couldn't believe they were there, before she reached out to touch their shoulders, squeezing a moment before pulling back, "Sorry," she shook her head, feeling a little embarrassed that she'd just randomly touched them. They were…acquaintances, perhaps friends, but she hadn't seen them in years and it was just…weird to see them again, "I just needed to make sure you were real. It's been a very strange day."

"We are real," Thor assured her.

Jane frowned at them, "Did you…come from Asgard, was it?""We have," Athena nodded, "But Jane, we must know where were you? Heimdall could not see you."

"I was right here," Jane told them, her frown deepening when she saw them exchange a look at that, "I've been on earth all this time. Working for SHIELD, investigating some spatial anomalies, giving some lectures," she sighed, rubbing her head, "I even tried to find you two, see if I could spot Asgard or where it was in the galaxy or…" she looked at them, "You came to Earth," she nearly accused, "You were in New York, and SHIELD said you came a few other times."

They could tell that Jane was a little upset with that and they could guess why. Jane had been Thor's first ally on Earth, had been the one to help him most, and, while they had been trying to protect her when they'd been in New York and been assured that Coulson had sent Jane away, the other times were more circumstances keeping them away. They could tell she was hurt that they hadn't at least said hello but appeared and left without a word to her after all she'd done. They had wanted to, wanted to see her again and thank her properly, make sure she was well, but there was so much going on and their trips to Earth had to be brief and quick.

"We were," Athena agreed, "We were unable to stay long."

"Why?"

"The Bifrost was destroyed," Thor told her, "The Nine Realms erupted into chaos, wars were raging, marauders were pillaging…Athena and I," he glanced at Athena, "We and our warriors, we had to put an end to the slaughter."

"It had to be our main focus Jane," Athena turned to her, "We had to ensure there was peace and protection throughout the Realms before we could come here for a longer period of time. We arrived in New York to protect this world from the dangers and threats of the other Realms. We came after that so that we could establish and make peace with the mortals, to offer recompense for the damage Loki had done as is the honorable thing to do."

Jane shifted at that, "As excuses go, it's not…terrible," she offered.

"We fear, however, that our efforts may not have been as effective as we wished," Thor sighed, "Heimdall saw you disappear, but we know not where you were or what happened. We know something has affected you though and we must help."

"What happened?" Jane shook her head at that."You noticed the rain, Jane," Athena reminded her, looking around, "It is not falling upon us while you are standing so near."

Jane swallowed at that, "What happened to me?"

"We cannot be certain," Thor glanced at Athena who nodded, "But we will find out."

"How?"

But before Thor or Athena could tell her, warn her, reassure her, Darcy ran over, "Hey!" the girl smiled, her coat held over her head as she neared them, glancing up at the rain that wasn't falling around them before focusing on two immortals, "Is this you?" she gestured up at the rain.

Thor looked up, realizing that it WAS him, his actual presence there had seemed to summon the rain with him. That would have to be another thing that they tweaked about the Bifrost, he knew that his presence on Earth was could affect the weather, normally he had control on it, but when in the Bifrost, it helped to only focus on the destination instead of his abilities. The Bifrost was meant to shield the landing area from the effects of his power but it appeared that was a little off and he would have to consciously control that from now on when he was out of the landing zone. He twisted Mjolnir in his hand and the rain let up around them.

"Distracted?" Athena teased him with a small smirk.

"Always," he gave her a smile of his own, the 'around you' not needed to be said to dark a faint pink blush to her cheeks.

"Oh, um," Darcy looked at Jane, "Speaking of distractions…I'm pretty sure we are getting arrested," she nodded back to where two cop cars had appeared on the other side of the walkway, in the courtyard of the buildings.

"Hold that thought," Jane told the immortals before she turned and rushed off to deal with the cops.

"Look at you," Darcy smiled at them, "Still all blonde and muscley and everything!" she poked Thor's abs though they both knew that she was talking about both of them, "How's space?"

"Space is fine," Thor Athena frowned, "Darcy, you said Jane was missing for five hours?"

"Heard that huh?" Darcy sighed, "Yeah, I dunno what happened," she shrugged, "We were just looking at this thing cos, see she was on a date with this dude, and I sort crashed it to show her this reading we go," she started to feel her pockets before she remembered two things, they wouldn't have understood what the device was or what it meant anyway and that she had given it back to Jane, "Anyway, so we came here to check it out and there were these kids that showed us it. It was freaky."

"What was it?" Athena shook her head, not understanding. She was following along just fine, but she honestly wasn't sure what Darcy was talking about, she hadn't really said anything that made much sense to her or Thor it appeared.

"No idea," Darcy let out a long breath and smiled, "It was cool though. You could like, drop something on an upper level of that building," she pointed back to it, "And it would disappear and then fall from above you till you caught it. Doesn't work on metal though. Ooh!" she nearly shouted, "And below it you could lift things like they were nothing."

"That is not of this world," Thor agreed, glancing at the building. Given that Darcy was surprised that the police had arrived, it was clear that the building had been as abandoned as it appeared. There would be no cause for something like that occurrence to be there. And, as it was the police and not SHIELD, they were aware that it was likely not a SHIELD experiment gone wrong either.

"And Jane…disappeared through it?" Athena tried to work out, Darcy was a bit all over the place in trying to explain this to them.

"I don't know," Darcy frowned this time, growing serious, "We split up to check the warehouse, see if there was anything that could explain the conditions we found. I went one way, Jane went another and we were supposed to meet back by it but, when I got there, Jane wasn't there. I waited an hour for her before trying to find her but there was no sign of her in the entire building."

"And your…readings?" Athena frowned, "They should nothing of where she could have been?"

"No," Darcy answered, "I walked around the entire place and it was just normal except for the original anomaly."

Thor and Athena looked at each other before turning to focus on Jane, watching her closely as she approached one of the police officers. There was most certainly something going on with her, for one, humans did not randomly disappear such as how Darcy described, nor did they have their own invisible shields. They had noticed that the ran ceasing to fall was a result of Jane's proximity and they knew that there were some pieces of technology and magic in Asgard that would allow a shield of that sort, to help protect from the weather and the extremes in certain situations, but that was not something that Earth seemed capable of or near creating just yet. And certainly there was nothing on Jane's person that would be similar to the magic they had in Asgard. They were also aware that Jane preferred to make her own equipment and, while she was a brilliant woman, she was more focused on observing astronomical anomalies than focusing on the weather and rain around her.

"Excuse me!" they heard Jane shouting, pulling their attention back to her when she reached one of the men.

"Are you Jane Foster?" the man turned to her.

Athena gave Thor a nod of agreement, seeing a question in his eyes as he made a small gesture towards Jane and they turned to start walking in that direction with Darcy, moving slowly so as not to alarm the men. They knew enough of this world that men with weapons (for clearly they could see their guns) tended to see anyone else with a weapon as a threat. Even if their weapons were a hammer and a sword, the men would not hesitate to grab their guns and fire at them and that was not something they wanted. That was one thing about their weapons, they were held in the hand, they could only do as much damage as THEY wanted, guns, they'd seen, could ricochet, they could hit the wrong target, sometimes they hit the wrong part of the target. It was the same sort of issue with long distance weapons, even the bow and arrow or throwing knives, they lacked the accuracy that the hand held weapons could provide. It took years of practice to be able to hit an accurate target in different weather conditions from a distance and they doubted the men before them were trained enough to be able to hit a target farther away with a small gun. They didn't want Darcy or Jane to get injured just because the other mortals saw them as a threat so they moved cautiously, keeping their eyes on the police men as they did.

What's more…they couldn't be sure exactly what was creating that shield that had protected Jane from the rain. They felt…odd around her, like there was someone else standing there with them, like there was another presence that they couldn't see. And if it meant that what was surrounding Jane was, in some small way, alive…then it could react. If that presence felt Jane was in danger…they didn't know what it could do to the men or to Jane herself, it would be best if they were closer incase anything happened.

"Yes," Jane answered.

"Do you know this man?" he gestured to another young man who was being patted down against one of the cars by another police officer.

"He's my intern," Jane replied, "My intern's intern."

Athena glanced at Darcy who had a proud, smug smile on her face, "Ian," Darcy offered them, knowing they were curious who the man was, "He works for me. Makes me the boss," she lifted her chin with pride, amusing the two immortals.

"This is private property and you're trespassing," the police officer told them, "The lot of you. You'll have to come with me."

And then it all happened quickly, the man reached out for Jane, about to grab her arm…when a blast of red shot out from inside of her, blasting everyone around her back, nearly driving even Thor and Athena back as well. The two turned, covering Darcy to protect her, making them skid back slightly but not fall as the others had. They looked over just in time to see the two police men on the ground, Ian having fallen too…and Jane who remained standing for only a moment before she seemed to collapse, to faint, in the middle of the circle that had blasted out of her.

Thor ran for Jane quickly, checking on her as Athena joined him, her shield out as she saw the two police officers getting up and grabbing their guns as they turned to her, Thor, and Jane.

"Is she alright?" Athena didn't dare glance back, keeping her eyes trained on the two men and their weapons, knowing she may need to user her shield to block them.

"Yes," Thor answered and she could hear a shuffle of the two standing.

"What just happened?" was Jane's shaky reply.

Athena tightened the grip she had on her shield, seeing the police men on their feet, aiming their guns at the three of them, "Place your hands on your heads, step back!" one of them ordered.

"This woman is unwell," Thor frowned, his one hand resting on Jane's back for support, his other hand reaching out to touch Athena's elbow, a light tug being all she needed to understand it was his request to step back and closer to him.

"She's dangerous!" the second man cried.

Athena would have laughed if the situation were not so serious, between the two men before her aiming guns at them and whatever was wrong with Jane behind her. She would have laughed at their belief that Jane was more dangerous than she or Thor were, especially how they were together, but this was not the time nor the place.

Thor seemed to agree as she felt him straighten behind her as she drew back, "So are we," he told the men and she felt his hand leave her elbow, likely to pick up Mjolnir.

The men, however, seemed to take that as a threat and one quickly grabbed a radio to call for help, "Requesting armed response officers to the scene!"

Athena knew, without even needing to look at Thor, what he was planning when she heard him tell Jane quietly to, "Hold on," and made her way onto Jane's other side, grabbing her one arm as Thor grabbed her right, both of them bracing themselves.

"What are you doing?" Jane looked between them.

"Just…hold tight," Athena tried to reassure her as Thor looked up at the sky.

Thor lifted Mjolnir up, and grinned as the Bifrost's beam shot down towards them, encompassing them in its warm light, surrounding them and blinding the others to the point where they had to look away. They crouched down slightly, bent their knees and jumped as they felt the Bifrost trying to suck them up into the air and energy of the beam, allowing it to take them as they raced along it, Jane half-screaming, half-gasping between them as they travelled the length of it…

Till they stumbled out of it and into the observatory-like structure where Heimdall was standing at the controls, having seen them in danger, having seen Thor summon the bridge.

"We have to do that again!" Jane gasped, a wide smile starting to form on her face before she got a look at where they had appeared and that they were not alone, "Hi…" she added quietly, faltering when she saw Heimdall before her, looking up at the sight of the man standing at the controls, pulling his sword from them.

Thor and Athena shared a small grin behind Jane's back, they could imagine Heimdall was quite the intimidating sight. He was tall, strong, his armor was a shining gold, with his horned-like helmet and glowing eyes, dark skin, and stoic face, he truly was a guardian, willing to give his life and do what had to be done to protect Asgard. He set his sword on the ground with a faint tap of the point hitting the floor, curling his hands around the hilt and looking to Jane, impassive as possible, but they could see a faint…disappointment mixed with concern in his eyes. He was not happy with this, but he had been watching and he had seen what had occurred around Jane as well. And they knew…it had to be serious for Heimdall to agree that Jane would be better off in Asgard. Mortals were not quite allowed in this realm, they were well aware of that, but if Heimdall seemed to think that there was something affecting Jane, if he allowed them to be there…it meant that he truly believed there was a science and magic in Asgard that was not on Earth that she needed.

"Welcome to Asgard," Heimdall stated.

They could only hope that Odin would be as…agreeable and welcoming.

"Come," Athena gently took Jane's elbow, leading her for the Rainbow Bridge.

"Where are we going?" Jane glanced at her.

"We have healers who may be able to help discern what happened," Thor explained.

"How would they…" she trailed off, her eyes widening as it went from the Rainbow Bridge, to the sight of Asgard before her, her breath leaving her as she stared at the gleaming, towering city ahead of her, "Oh…my…god…" she whispered, "It's beautiful…"

Thor beamed with pride at that, pleased that someone felt that way about his home, and nudged Jane's back to get her to start walking again, the woman silent for once, too in awe of everything before her, trying to look every which way to try and see everything she could. Athena laughed lightly beside her, smiling and shaking her head.

~8~

The healers were…quite shocked when the Prince of Asgard and the future advisor to the prince, someone they didn't often see, entered the Healing Halls with…a mortal. Well, Athena was sure that 'quite shocked' was an understatement of…rather large proportions. The women in the healing rooms had been very…not hostile, but rather on edge about the presence of Jane there. They had been hesitant to even try to use their diagnostic means on her, they'd been hesitant to try anything on her, well aware of how Odin felt about mortals in Asgard. It was as good as forbidden and for Thor to be asking them to use their methods on Jane…it put them in an understandably hard position. To refuse him would be to refuse the prince, and future king, of Asgard but to do as he wished meant defying Odin and his own decrees.

Did they listen to the current king or future king?

Athena had, luckily been able to convince them that their methods were needed and should be used. She pointed out that she and Thor would not have come to them, would not have risked Odin's ire, that Heimdall (the most loyal to Odin) would never have allowed Jane there if it was not a true threat and if there was nothing that Asgard could do to help. They would not have chanced breaking Odin's decrees if it was not something serious and not something that they could handle on their own. She brought up that they were uncertain what was causing changes in Jane and that, for all they knew, it could be something Loki had left on Earth, some sort of trap that was meant to lure them away from the Avengers last time they were there but that had been mis-timed. If that were the case, then it was well within their rights and duty to utilize the healing rooms and the skills of the healers to determine what was wrong and how to fix it. But they wouldn't know if it was Loki's doing until they had been able to scan Jane and see for themselves what was wrong.

After those points the healers had begrudgingly agreed, especially when Thor swore that they would have his protection should his father find out and become angered, that he would take full responsibility…which had led to a small, yet playful, argument between him and Athena where she demanded half the blame and responsibility and Jane had watched in amusement as they went back and forth about it till Thor gave in and agreed they would share responsibility for this decision. She felt…oddly ok with seeing Thor and Athena like that. She had, she could admit, felt something for Thor when she'd first met him, but it was clear to anyone with eyes where his heart was set and she could see how balanced Athena made him. She doubted she would be able to endure half the things Athena had, that she'd be able to handle Thor the way the woman did, understand him like Athena could. And that was ok, she had found some good men on Earth, she was doing well, and truly it was better to keep her heart on Earth than send it shooting across the galaxy to Asgard every other moment.

Thor and Athena watched on as Jane laid back down on an examination table, watching as an energy field began to form around her, gathering on top of her before shooting up above her in her general shape. The energy then began to take a different form, like a swirl of dark red smoke that was billowing inside her as the healers began to examine it and try to determine what it was.

"What's that?" Jane frowned, reaching up to poke the swirl above her.

"Be still," one of the healers murmured to her.

"This…" Athena shook her head, "This is not something that we have seen on Earth. Is it of Asgard?"

"We do not know," another healer frowned, "But she will not survive the amount of energy surging within her."

"That's a quantum field generator, isn't it?" Jane asked, not seeming to grasp that her life was in danger, she was so focused on the swirl.

"It's a Soul Forge," the first healer remarked.

"Does a Soul FOrge transfer molecular energy from one place to another?"

The woman blinked and looked down at Jane, seeming slightly impressed, "…yes."

Jane smirked and looked at Thor and Athena, "Quantum field generator," she told them quietly.

"My words are mere noises to you that you ignore them completely?!" a harsh voice shouted as the doors opened and an old man stormed in.

Thor, for his part, didn't even flinch as his father entered, "She's ill."

"She is mortal," Odin half hissed, "Illness is their defining trait."

"Athena and I brought her here so we can help her."

Odin scoffed and turned a narrowed eye on Athena, "You agreed to this."

Athena straightened where Jane was sure if she'd been the target of that man's look she'd have cowered, "Yes," she told Odin, "I had reason to believe that Loki had left some sort of trap on Earth and Jane was caught in it. It fell to Thor and I to investigate and to undo his harms. That is why Jane is here, to examine whether it was Loki or something else."

"She does not belong here in Asgard any more than a goat belongs at a banquet table," Odin muttered.

Jane frowned at that, sitting up, "Did he just…" she began, feeling more angry and offended than scared now, "Who do you think you are?!"

"I am Odin," he stated, now turning his glare on her, "King of Asgard. Protector of the Nine Realms."

"Oh," Jane blinked, clearing her throat, now intimidated, "Well I'm…"

"I know very well who you are. Jane Foster."

Jane blinked once more and turned to Thor and Athena, "You told the king about me?"

"We told him of all our allies on earth," Athena nodded, making Jane smile that she was considered an ally.

"Something's within her father," Thor gestured at the scan that was still activated despite Jane sitting up, the red still swirling within her form, "Something I have not seen."

"Nor I," Athena agreed, growing serious.

"Her world has its healers," Odin nearly spat, "They're called doctors, let them deal with it. Guards! Take her back to Midgard!"

Athena knew that was likely to happen, Odin had been…even less welcoming to any non-Asgardians lately that she had almost feared for a few that had been in the palace and among the warriors for ages yet, that they would be sent home as well, like Hogun and some others. Ever since Loki had betrayed them, Odin had not seen fit to allow anyone new into Asgard, to him…he had accepted Loki in, the most different of them all, had loved him like a son, and he had been betrayed and burned by Loki's actions. He would not trust any who was not of Asgard and came to them now.

"No I wouldn't…" Thor began as the guards approached Jane and reached out to grab her arm…only for the red blast that had taken out the police officers to strike them as well, sending them flying back, "Touch her."

"Jane," Athena moved to her side, seeing her swaying where she was sitting and looking like she was about to fall off the examination bed, "Are you alright? Lie down…" she helped Jane lay back as Odin rushed over.

He seemed about to place his hand on Jane's arm but instead waved it over it, watching as her skin began to glow as red as the blast, "It's impossible."

"The infection," one of the healers frowned, "It's defending her?"

"No," Thor shook his head, realizing what it was doing, "It's defending itself."

"But what is it?" Athena looked at them, at Odin, seeing something in his words, like he had seen this before.

Odin merely grew grim, "Come with me," he ordered, his gaze flickering to Jane, "Bring the girl," before he turned to storm out.

Athena and Thor looked at each other, their expressions growing just as grim and serious before they moved to help Jane stand and follow Odin. For him to want Jane to come after nearly ordering her to be cast out…it was not going to be good.

A/N: My sister is an evil genius. An evil, evil genius who I am currently afraid might be a female incarnation of the Master now :( ...and she's very, very bitter. She's taking an accounting course and she wanted me to look over her homework, despite me telling her that, even though I have a Bachelor's/Master's in the subject, I hate it, I loathe it, I retained NOTHING of it (except 'for every debit there is a credit') and warning her that I might be wrong in checking some of her mistakes. For the most part it seemed like she did everything right, so I gave it back to her...and then she got about half of it wrong and blamed me for not catching her mistakes. She firmly believed I did it on purpose so she got onto my computer (and every single computer in our house) and went to the security settings and made the log-in page for fanfiction restricted/blocked :( I spent the last 2 days thinking that the site was glitching, but wondering why other pages were opening until she finally told me before she went to work today because, apparently, she forgot she'd done it to me and that she was mad at me (she may possibly be getting a new boyfriend so she's a little less witchy-with-a-b right now :( I'm so mad! I couldn't log in at all for the last 2 days! :( I finally went in and unblocked the site so I'm so sorry there weren't chapters the last 2 days :( Grrr... :(

As for this chapter, ooh Jane's in Asgard! This was probably the chapter that I liked the least writing it, because nothing really happened, but we'll see much more coming very soon :)

Quick note though, to anyone who's read my Doctor Who 'Lunar Cycle' Series, I do a sort of tumblr takeover day where the OC has control of my tumblr and you can talk to her/ask questions and the OC responds. Tomorrow (July 15th) is the Takeover Day for Evy Daniels if anyone is interested. So in about...7 hours from posting this ;)

Some notes on reviews...

I have no idea :( It only hurts people when plagiarism happens, the original and plagiarizing author and the readers :( The worst is when a plagiarizer adamantly denies that they've done it, especially to their readers, and the readers believe them (I've gotten hate mail from other readers about 'claiming' an author plagiarized me and, because their stories were removed, they thought I was making it up)...until the proof is put side by side and then it's like...you can't trust a word that author says because if they're willing to lie to their readers, they'll lie to anyone and about anything :(

I was debating Athena being possessed by the Aether, but I couldn't quite make it fit with her being in Asgard and the Aether being in some kind of portal on Earth :( I think Thor will still feel some responsibility and obligation to help Jane, being a warrior and protecting people, but just without the romantic ties :)

I'm sorry people have plagiarized too :( It only serves to make me more paranoid with my stories and try to get them done faster so that the dates are all up for comparisons and things. I hoped it would stop too, but it never seems to :( At least now I have a system for it, makes it a little more efficient to deal with it and a tiny bit easier to endure it :)


	4. The Aether

The Aether

Athena smiled as she, Thor, Jane, and Odin entered the Hall of Science, like a large library that housed all the books of knowledge that Asgard had to spare. Ooh she loved this room, she loved being there and surrounded by such a vast amount of information. She had spent many days locked away in the library, pouring over the tomes held within, reading up on all of Asgard's history and science and theories and the many creations they'd made over the years. She'd practically lived in that library for ages the first time she arrived at the palace for training. Well, she'd lived there and on the training field. Sif had actually, at times, had to drag her out of the library to go to the tavern or to other places with the others she just…there was SO much to know! To learn! And she hadn't wanted to lose a second of her time in doing so.

Knowledge was power and the more one knew, the better off they were and the more books there were to read the more she wanted to read them. There were some tomes, however, that she and many others had been forbidden to touch let alone read, the older books, the thicker ones, the ones that were more precious and contained a knowledge only meant for the king and his advisors and, despite her being on the track to become Thor's advisor, she was not assigned that position just yet. She had to wait till then to look at some of those books.

It was funny, in a way, how much those books were actually responsible for her relationship growing with Thor. At first, when Odin had broached the topic of her becoming and training to be Thor's advisor when he was king…she'd refused. She'd wanted to at least, she had thought him pompous and arrogant, that he would only listen to the sound of his own voice instead of someone else's. Well, that was a bit harsh, she knew that he did listen, at times, but it seemed more when Loki spoke and it was largely because the boy was his brother and knew just what to say to manipulate Thor into doing or not doing something. And, she supposed, looking back at it, a bit of her lesser thoughts on Thor were a result of her own feelings for him.

She'd been…attracted to him, from the moment they had sparred in the little tournament when she arrived. She saw signs in him of the makings of a good king, starting first and foremost with his ability to actually fight and protect people. He was a remarkably skilled warrior and if it hadn't been for his hubris and underestimation of her and how he used the same moves to block specific blows, he likely would have bested her. He was charming and strong and he did have a good heart in him it was his head that was where some of his good intentions got lost. He wanted nothing more than to protect and defend his people, to see Asgard grow and prosper…but the way he thought and was willing to go about it, with war and battles and making enemies frightened of him, was not quite the best reasoning.

She could see it now, in retrospect, how much some of her thoughts and the things she didn't like about him stemmed from how much she actually DID like him. She had never really felt a connection or a pull to a man before, to anyone, and the fact that this man got to her so quickly…she'd pushed him away. She'd tried to find every single deplorable thing about him, tried to make every little annoyance larger, tried to make him seem worse than he was…because she didn't want to admit that she liked him. She knew that, as Darcy had once called her, her name to the mortals represented the ideal of a 'Virgin Goddess' and she supposed it was similar for her. The Athena of legend refused to be with a man, refused to wed or take a lover or have any sort of relation like that with a man. The Athena of legend had vowed to be a virgin forever, to be a true warrior who stood on her own and needed no man to protect her or strengthen her.

She could see a similarity between that ideal and herself, for so long she just hadn't been interested in men, she hadn't wanted anything like that, any sort of relationship. She had wanted to prove herself to be a warrior, to be a woman strong enough to defend herself and not need to rely on a man. Her family…they weren't like Thor and his, they weren't big on battle. Yes, they fought, when they had to, but they were more an intellectual and crafting family, in a way. Thor's family were warriors, they fought, they trained others, they had soldier and armies. She and her one brother were the only true and real warriors in the family. And, because she was a woman, she had to fight more to prove herself.

It could have been the differences between them and coming to the palace that had done it, to see others with as much passion for fighting and war and strategy as her. To be there and be accepted, to not have to constantly fight to prove she was worth something…

THAT was what had drawn her to Thor first and foremost. After she had bested him that one time, he had looked at her and just…accepted her. He accepted that she was a skilled warrior and from that point on, at least to Thor, she knew she didn't have to keep fighting to prove herself worthy. He looked at her like she was a skilled and valuable asset, a true fighter, a part of his warriors. And he challenged her. So many men, when she fought them or denied them would turn angry or bitter against her but Thor had just challenged her, he would talk to her and debate with her, train with her. He treated her like a warrior instead of a woman, he gave her respect and honor instead of trying to take something from her that other men she knew had.

She'd almost hated how…respectable he was with her. She wasn't used to it. And so she wasn't used to actually wanting to be around him so she searched for every little thing that was wrong with him and focused on that. Because she genuinely didn't know what to do, it had never happened to her before and she knew if she even tried to ask one of her family members about what she should do it would end up with some sort of raunchy instruction on how to seduce or a trap for marriage and she wasn't interested in hearing it. She was clever, she would work it out for herself…but she'd needed help.

The books had been the spark that led to where she and Thor were now.

She had wanted access to the books and the only way to do that was to be an advisor. So she'd accepted Odin's offer even though it meant she'd be forced to spend more time with Thor. The role of advisor meant that she needed to know his temperament, how to speak to him at different times, to get through to him like Loki did. She needed to know what his first thoughts would be, his reactions, so she could counter them. She needed to know signs for when he was putting on a show and agreeing to things he'd later turn his word on. She needed to know his thoughts on things, understand where his mind came from. She had to know how his mind worked.

It also had to be about trust, Thor had to trust her, that she would do what was best for Asgard, that she would do her best to ensure he be a wise and just king. He had to trust that she wouldn't turn on him or make a fool of him or try to control him. It meant they had to talk with each other, spend time together, get to know each other. They had to bond and…the more time she spent around him, the harder it was to hold onto all those little details that she had forced herself to find and focus on. It had boiled down to the end that all she could hold onto was his arrogance, his immaturity, and his bloodlust. Those were the flaws she had focused on, those were all she had left to keep herself at a distance from him.

Because as much as it had started off with her being alarmed at her own desire to get to know Thor and be closer to him…it slowly became a fear that she would allow herself to become biased because of her feelings for him. An advisor was meant to be free of complications. If she cared too much for Thor then she might agree with things he did to not end up fighting with him. If she loved him too much she might start to not see something wrong with what he was doing. If it came down to physically restraining him to stop him from doing something rash…she might not be able to bring herself to harm him like that. If she cared too much she could let it sway her.

Of course, Thor had had to go and shatter her illusions about his 3 remaining flaws when he'd been banished to Earth and leave her with no complaints about him. Well, there were always complaints and things he did that irritated her, but nowhere near strong enough where she could make them out to be more than what they were. He had proven himself to be humble in how he had tried to make amends with Jane and the others, to apologize for his behavior, to realize that he was mortal and accept that he couldn't help as he once had. He had proven himself to be mature in how he dealt with the situation, how he had tried to reason with Loki after his return to Asgard. And he had proven his desire for peace in trying to stop Loki destroying the Jotuns, in how he had refused to fight Loki at all.

And he had proven his care for HER as well, not just in revealing his feelings for her, revealing he reciprocated them but…it was like he KNEW her fears and doubts about what a relationship would mean for her role as advisor to the future king. He went out of his way to prove to her that she wouldn't ever not fight with him or debate when it was something she felt strongly against. She would never have to fear that she would not fight with him and just go along with his plans because her conviction was stronger than she thought it was. He did all he could to prove that she would always call him out on his wrong doings, even if they were as small as being impolite or being too harsh on someone. She had a good head on her shoulders and she knew the laws and the ways of the people and if she saw him being rude, she would tell him. There was nothing to fear for her not seeing his wrongdoings, she had reveled in pointing them out for far too long, he'd joked, that she wouldn't start now just because she was closer to him, if anything it would allow her to see them even more clearly. And he had used their sparring to show her that she would have no qualms with slamming his body to the ground and sitting on his limbs if it meant restraining him. He used their physical duels to show her that she could still be physical with him and stop him from doing things if it truly came to that.

What's more…he'd had Frigga talk with her as well. She hadn't even realized that he'd known her fears about the threat to the balance of being lover and advisor till Frigga had taken her aside and spoken of how SHE acted not just as advisor and wife of Odin…but also as Queen of Asgard. Frigga had alluded to the possibility that Thor might select HER to be the future Queen instead of just his advisor. If that was the case, she had absolutely nothing to worry about in terms of her feelings for Thor and how that might influence her advice on Asgard, because she wouldn't just be his wife, she'd be the Queen and it would be even more imperative to give him advice for the betterment of Asgard, she wouldn't ever have to worry about letting Thor get to her because she would be fighting and focused on the good of Asgard as well.

It had reassured her more than words could express, to hear that there was a strong possibility that her advice and wisdom and her thoughts on things wouldn't be compromised because Frigga was right, if she was Queen it would be her duty to do everything she could to ensure the safety of Asgard, even if it meant openly opposing Thor. It would be the extra incentive to keep her priorities in line and keep her strength of will strong.

She laughed lightly under her breath as she followed Odin, Thor, and Jane, all this had started because she'd wanted access to the books. If she hadn't accepted the offer to train as advisor, just to get access to them, she never would have built the relationship she had with Thor. She never would have gotten to know him and eventually accepted that it was ok to love someone, to love a man, and to realize that it wouldn't change her or make her weak to do so. If anything…it had made her stronger, it made her want to be stronger, to be better, to be faster.

"There are relics that predate the universe itself," Odin spoke, pulling Athena out of her thoughts and making her flush lightly that she'd gotten so consumed in them as to not realize they'd reached a book on a pedestal, "What lies within her appears to be one of them. The Nine Realms are not eternal. They had a dawn, as they will have a dusk. But before that dawn the dark forces, the Dark Elves, reigned absolute and unchallenged."

"The Dark Elves?" Athena frowned, never having heard of them before.

She knew that every realm had many tales and myths and legends of how their universes started. There were tales of giants and titans and turtles and so many others, especially on Earth. She knew that the Nine Realms were based in Asgard, based in the 'Norse' and Germanic Mythology of the Earth but it was by no means the only realms in existence. As the Earth had different cultures and different beliefs in different gods, she knew that they existed elsewhere. The Chinese of Earth had their gods in their won realms, the Africans had their own, the Indians their own, and so many others. Each culture was different, the gods they worshiped were different and she knew that, if Thor and his family were the only ones on Earth millennia ago then they would have been the same gods across all cultures. The fact that they weren't had to mean that there were gods in existence elsewhere that were the foundations of other belief systems and other myths.

She had actually tried to look into some others, Jane had told her a few while they had talked during her trip to Earth in Thor's banishment, she wanted to know what the other legends and gods were like, thinking that, perhaps, Asgard could expand, could reach out further than the Nine Realms and try to make alliances with the other gods. It was hard, because it appeared that each set of Gods had their own realms and own worlds and their own means of travel and protection, it would be difficult to cross to those worlds and find them but it was a thought. It had potential, a unity among the gods of old would be quite something and perhaps be Thor's great legacy, much like Odin's was uniting the Nine Realms in peace.

She cursed under her breath when she heard a book open and snapped her head over to realize that Odin had opened a beautifully illuminated, ancient book, and she hadn't even realized it. She truly did need to focus.

Thor glanced at his father as he selected a page and stepped back to allow his son to read it, "'Before the eternal night, the Dark Elves come to steal away your light,'" he read, frowning as he thought on that, "These were the stories mother told to us as children."

Odin sighed, "Their leader, Malekith, made a weapon out of that darkness, it was called the Aether," Athena was silent at that, she had heard the word 'Aether' before but she didn't think it was quite the same as what Odin was speaking of or in the same context, "While the other relics often appear as stones, the Aether is fluid, and ever changing. It changes matter into dark matter, and seeks out host bodies, drawing strength from their life force. Malekith sought to use the Aether's power to return the universe to one of darkness. But, after eternities of bloodshed, my father, Bor, finally triumphed, ushering in a peace that lasted thousands of years."

"What happened?" Jane frowned.

"He killed them all."

"That never seems feasible," Athena murmured, "One, at the very least, always escapes or is always left alive, to serve as example to others," she knew that very well, it was quite a common custom.

"The Aether was said to have been destroyed with them," Thor agreed with Athena that it seemed like it wasn't the entire truth, "And yet here it is."

"The Dark Elves are dead," Odin glared, seeming to think they were calling HIM a liar instead of realizing they were questioning his father.

"Does your book happen to mention how to get it out of me?" Jane asked.

"No," Odin said briskly, "It does not."

Athena knew she should have expected it, when Odin turned and merely strode out of the room, leaving them with no more information and no suggestions of what to do, but she had hoped that he would see the danger that the Aether in Jane possessed and would at least try to help more. If the Aether operated by taking the life force of its host, Jane would eventually die and the Aether would seek out a new host, and it could be any of them. She closed her eyes at that a moment, realizing that Odin likely would wait till Jane was too weak to fight back and then have the guards cast her out somewhere where the Aether couldn't latch onto one of them.

She opened her eyes and looked at Jane who seemed pale, perhaps realizing what she had or just shaken from the thought that there was something inside her that was consuming her life force, "Come," she reached out, putting a slow and gentle hand on Jane's arm so not to startle her, being a comfort instead of a threat, "Fresh are will help settle you," she offered, turning her to lead her out, Thor giving her a nod over her shoulder as he remained to look at the book a short while longer, to see if there was anything that could be of help. HE was allowed to be near the book, she was not, not yet and, if they didn't find a way to stop the Aether or find a way to contain it before it exploded out of Jane again worse than before, she might never.

~8~

Athena led Jane over to the edge of a balcony that overlooked the waterfront along the palace edge, smiling as she looked at Jane's new attire. She was wearing more Asgardian clothing now, borrowed from Sif courtesy of Thor's request. Athena understood the reasoning, Jane's clothes had made it all too noticeable that she was not of Asgard but of Midgard and wearing something from an Asgardian would be something that would help her blend in more than before. Even if the majority of the people in the palace knew who belonged and who didn't, who was common to be seen, and knew that Jane was a mortal, it helped them not focus too much on her. It was a gray dress with a small cape over it, more draped around her arms at the moment as she wasn't quite used to wearing a cape. She would have offered her own clothing to Jane, but her clothing was quite…lacking in terms of dresses. She, more often than not, wore only her armor and could only be forced into the more formal gowns when it was a celebration that was absolutely required of her to be in a dress. So she only had about two…total…in her entire wardrobe. Oh she knew she had more back at her home, back then it was expected for her to be in her formal white dresses at all times unless she was training. She had many, many gowns there, but had 'accidently' left them all there when she left home.

Such a shame.

And then, of course, Sif had figured out that she had no gowns of her own during the first formal event in Asgard that she'd attended and forced her to get at least one gown. Frigga, after the 10th event of her wearing the same gown, had gifted her with another, the woman knowing her dislike of having gowns and wearing them and had given her only one other. Still, they were all she had and Thor knew that Sif had more to select and more to spare and had requested a disguise from her as well.

She had been leading Jane around, showing her the palace when Thor had approached with a gown and she'd taken Jane to another room to change into it. From that point they'd been able to take the woman more outside the palace as well, with less people staring at her and whispering about her. They'd gone to the market and the gardens, had watched her be rather intrigued and elated by a rather simple little ball the children were playing with. They had been confused, for a moment, as to why she was so overjoyed and wide eyed at it, it was just like a small ball of metal and energy that expanded and contracted…and then they realized that they had seen a small child on Earth playing with what appeared to be a ball but it was solid and simple. By Jane's standards, the balls that the children played with in Asgard were likely some sort of higher technological toys than Jane was used to. Once they pointed out, however, that she'd stolen the ball from the children, she'd given it back with a small flush.

They'd led her to the gardens after that, showed her some of the plants that were different from Earth and a few that they had taken with them from Earth, the roses especially were a favorite for the gardeners to tend to. Thor had plucked a yellow one and given it to Athena with a small smile. It was a simple gesture, small, without much hullabaloo about it. He'd just reached out, plucked it, and fiddled with it for a short moment while he twisted the thorns off of the stem before he smiled and just handed it to her. No words were needed, there was no desire for them, no use for them either, they did things like that all the time, small things when the other didn't ask or expect it, this was just one of many.

When Thor's cape was torn, she'd mended it, she was rather skilled with sewing and cloth crafts. When her shield had been dented from a blow by Volstagg during training, Thor had fixed it himself. When Thor was struggling with a long and tedious day, he'd return to his chambers and she'd be at the door the moment it closed with a smile and a goblet of warm cider to help him relax. If she was despondent and overwhelmed with trying to work out plans for the palace and the Nine Realms and the guard duty and so many other things, Thor would sneak up behind her and just squeeze her shoulders till the tension disappeared and a smile bloomed on her face. And when Thor was late to a meal and some of his favorite meats were gobbled down quickly, she always slid him a plate she'd hidden away with quite a few good pieces on it. The same went for the rose. She'd nicked her finger on the thorns once, the first time he'd given her a rose, and ever since then, when he wanted to be sweet and give her one, he'd pluck all the thorns off it first, to show his care for her.

It was just…the small things that they truly treasured.

"When you came for me," Jane began as they all sat down on the edge of a wall overlooking the waterfront, "You knew I was in trouble."

"Heimdall was unable to see you," Athena nodded, "And for that to happen, it meant you had either died and been buried or that you merely weren't there any longer, on Earth. It happened too suddenly for it to be a death and burial."

Jane shivered at that, at the thought that she could have been dead for all they knew, "Well how is that possible that I wasn't on Earth any longer?" she looked at them.

Thor glanced at Athena, seeming unsure as to whether to tell Jane the truth or not. Athena nodded though, Jane was clever, he knew, and she was the only one who knew what had happened to her when she was missing. Even if she didn't seem to remember at the current moment, there had to be traces of the event in her mind, if they could try to describe it, to talk about it, there was a chance she might remember it.

"We believe you were and you weren't," Thor began, "The Nine Realms travel within Yggdrasil, orbiting Midgard in much the way your planet orbits the sun," he told her, trying to explain it the way that Athena had on earth so long ago, "Every five thousand years the worlds align perfectly, we call this the Convergence. During this time the borders between worlds become blurred. It's possible you found one of these points. We are lucky that it remained open. Once the worlds pass out of alignment, the connection is lost."

Jane gave him a small smile, "I like the way you two explain things," she looked between them, thinking of how Athena had helped explain the Bifrost to her, "What will happen to me?"

"Worry not Jane," Athena put a hand on her shoulder, "We WILL find a way to save you," they owed it to her, to all their allies on Earth, to help them when they were in need of it.

"But Odin said there was…"

"My father doesn't know everything," Thor argued lightly.

"Don't let him hear you say that," two voices spoke, one from Athena, and another behind them.

Thor and Athena turned and stood quickly, truly surprised that neither of them had heard the woman standing there approach.

"Jane Foster," Thor smiled at the sight of his mother, "Please meet Frigga, Queen of Asgard. My mother."

Jane quickly stood but stumbled on her gown as it got caught under her, Athena moving to help steady her as she blushed, averting her eyes from the queen, "Hi."

Athena's smile at Jane's actions faded when she saw the small smile on Frigga's face, "My Lady is all well?" she asked.

Frigga took a deep breath and gave Thor a look instead, "Your brother is as stubborn as ever."

"He is not my brother," Thor stated near instantly, Frigga flinching for it.

Athena glanced at Thor and stepped away from him and Jane, over to Frigga's side, "Has he harmed you?" she asked the woman quietly, knowing that if he had caused Frigga even a twinge of pain Thor would go after him.

Frigga reached up and gently patted the hand Athena had put on her arm, "Only my heart," she murmured, keeping the smile on her face so Thor, who was watching them intently, would be unaware of the pains Loki and his words had caused her, "I went to see him," she offered, knowing that both Athena and Thor were aware that she would sometimes project an image of herself into Loki's cell to speak to him, to try and get through to him, "He denounced Odin as his father."

Athena slowly started to nod at that, "And you as his mother," she realized. Neither Odin nor Frigga were Loki's parents, Frigga not even being Thor's birth mother either, but she loved them both as her sons, for Loki to deny his 'adoptive' father as being his father…it would mean, by that logic, that he was denying Frigga as his adoptive mother as well.

"It appears so," Frigga let out a breath, opening her mouth to speak to Thor when they all stiffened and looked up, hearing alarm bells going off inside the palace.

"The prison!" Athena turned to Thor.

"Loki!" Thor nearly growled.

"Go," Frigga urged, stepping closer to Jane and putting an arm around her, "I'll look after her."

Thor nodded and grabbed Athena's hand before she could open her mouth to argue, the two of them rushing towards the edge of the waterfront and leaping over the edge of it, catching Mjolnir as it hurtled past, taking them both to the prison, hoping to stop the break out for those alarm bells only meant one thing.

The prisoners were escaping.

A/N: Ooh, things are picking up! ^-^ I know there's a lot of Athena's thoughts in the beginning, I wanted to look more at her thoughts on Thor and try to show how she reacted to the idea of actually liking someone and having someone like Thor in her life :) She probably didn't go about it in the best way, but I think they're in a good place now :)

Some notes on reviews...

She went onto the tools tab, internet options, privacy, restricted sites and added the url in :( So I wouldn't have even thought to look there :( So far no drums though, but I've got my eye on her ;)

I wasn't much a fan of the Fantastic 4 movies, I liked them, but I couldn't really get into it enough to watch Silver Surfer, I've only seen bits of that, so I can't say if I'll do an OC for that movie yet :)


	5. A Fallen Warrior

A Fallen Warrior

Something about the alarms going off didn't sit right with Athena. She couldn't put her finger on it though, it was made worse when she and Thor neared the dungeons and were able to hear the cries of the battle going on within. It was just so odd that this even happened! The dungeons, for centuries, had been impenetrable. Precautions were always taken when the prisoners were brought in, the cells were designed to keep them captive, even LOKI couldn't break out of them without being let out first after years of tweaking. She knew that for certain, Odin had once locked Thor in one and Loki in the other with their weapons and told them to try and break out. He used his sons often for that, to test the defenses of Asgard, to ensure that the walls were strong enough where not even Mjolnir could break through them. They had added more precautions, some little things Loki was unaware of to ensure he was restrained within the cells, but she couldn't fathom how the prisoners had managed to escape in the first place!

She had been on guard duty before, she had been one to place the prisoners in the cells, she knew the protocol. Weapons were stripped, the prisoners canned for any sort of explosive or internally hidden weapon, the cells were meant to sap the strength of those within, rendering them nearly mortal in terms of power. Every single guard was well trusted, every guard knew that the consequences of not following protocol to the last letter could mean danger for all of Asgard. None of the guards would have ever risked allowing someone to sneak a weapon in, and, even if one had been missed, there should be no substance that could allow them to break out of those cells. If all that was followed, if the guards did their duty she just couldn't understand how this was happening…or why.

Yes, she was aware that those in prison never wanted to stay there. She was aware that, if given the chance, those within would likely try to seek revenge on their captors and attack. But she didn't know what the purpose of this battle was. The alarms, if one prisoner escaped then the guards were more than capable of handling it. The alarms were for when more than one prisoner escaped and, judging by the sound of the battle, it was like all the prisoners were out. A majority of the prisoners there, some of them were natural enemies, they would never allow for the other prisoners to escape. She had noticed over the years that most prisoners had a mentality where they wanted to get out and they didn't care about the other prisoners. They were selfish creatures who wanted only for themselves, their own freedom, and that the others could rot in their cells if they weren't clever enough to escape on their own, why should they help anyone else when they knew that the other prisoners, if they escaped, wouldn't extend the same courtesy?

THAT was what was bothering her most, that the other prisoners had been released. There was only one reason she could think of for the majority to be released and it was not a good thing. But…if one prisoner escaped, using the release of the others to buy some time and act as a distraction…then they would easily be caught by the guards in the halls. She could guess what the strategy was of the first escapee, they were on a mission, they wanted to go somewhere or kill someone, target them, but to do it they needed time and they needed the guards in the dungeon distracted. So they released the others to start a fight and give them time to escape. But there would be guards everywhere above, the escapee would be detained easily.

So she couldn't understand why this was happening either, especially when there was no point, when the escapee would just be caught or killed the moment the other guards saw them…nor could she understand HOW it was happening either.

But she had little time to think on that as she and Thor burst into the dungeon to see Fandral and Volstagg amongst the guards, fighting the marauders that had attacked Vanaheim earlier.

"It's as if they resent being in prison!" Fandral was shouting.

"There's no pleasing some creatures!" Volstagg grunted as he swung his weapon at one of the marauders.

Loki, it shocked Athena to see, was calmly sitting at the edge of his cell, near the long, clear glass window of it, reading a book and paying no mind to the battle going on just outside his cell. Now THAT was another thing that worried her when she knew she should be relieved that the man was still caged. Had he planned this? Was this his way of making himself seem innocent to Frigga? She knew the woman visited him, pleaded for him, was convinced that Loki could be redeemed and brought back to being her son once more. A mother's love knew no bounds and it worried both her and Thor how intent Frigga seemed to believe that Loki was not the monster they had come to see him as. They knew she would not risk releasing him, nor would she break any of Odin's edicts, but this might be another reaffirmation to her that Loki had only 'made a mistake' and was hurting from the truth of his birth as she believed.

But what if Loki hadn't had something to do with this? Why would the escapee NOT release Loki? That would have caused the utmost chaos, that would have taken all their concentration and…well, perhaps it was because of that. Because if Loki was free not just the guards would be involved but half their warriors and armies as well. That could be one possible reason for Loki remaining locked away, his freedom would mean too many warriors in the palace and swarming the jails.

"Return to your cells and no further harm will come to you!" Thor shouted from beside her, making her look over as he addressed the marauders, who only briefly stopped and backed away from Thor warily, "You have my word."

Just as Thor moved to turn his head to look around at the damage that had been done and try to assess what the status of their guards were, one of the marauders rushed at him, about to punch him, when Athena stepped up and caught his fist in her hand, squeezing it with all her strength till he fell to his knees with a cry of pain and shoved him back, half sending him skidding back to the others.

She shook her head and looked at Thor seriously, "I do not believe they accept."

He gave a nod, expecting that, "Very well," he looked back at the men, "You do not have my word," before he threw himself at the marauders, joining the fight as Fandral and Volstagg resumed their fighting.

Athena glanced around briefly, her gaze taking in how the energy shields and glass that was around each cell had seemed to be disintegrated…but there was one, just one, that seemed as though some sort of acid had been thrown at it, red around the edges. She would have to examine it closer later though, right now there was a battle to be fought as she rushed at the marauders as well, her sword out and ready.

~8~

Odin strode through the halls as he led a squadron of guards with him, giving out orders as he went, "Send a squadron to the weapons vault, defend it at all costs," he told one of them, ordering another to, "Seal the dungeon."

"Odin!" Frigga hurried over to him, Jane trailing behind, knowing that the king wasn't quite as fond of her as Frigga was.

"Frigga," Odin seemed almost shocked to see her walking through the halls and quickly turned to his men, "Go!" he ordered them off, a handful leaving but some staying behind with their king as he turned to his wife, "It's a skirmish," he reassured her, "Nothing to fear."

Frigga gave him a small smile for that, "You've never been a very good liar."

She knew very well that someone had likely escaped from the prison, that they were roaming the halls at that very moment. She wasn't a fool, she was the queen and she knew how the prisons worked, she knew that the alarms only sounded when there was something going on that the guards stationed there could not handle or contain themselves. It wasn't just a call to alert them to the fact that the prisoners were escaping but the fact that there was more than one that had gotten out. It was a call to arms, a call for any able bodied soldier in the vicinity to go there and help. When those alarms sounded, it meant there was truly a danger to be seen and she knew that it was not going to be an easy event to face.

The prisoners in the dungeon were either awaiting trial or were the most dangerous that Asgard had faced but were unable to kill. For even one to get out would put many in danger, but if more than one, if a handful or all of them were released it would be truly terrible. And the fact that Thor and Athena had yet to return…she knew that it had to be more than a meager amount that was detaining them. The fact that Odin was sending reinforcements, that he was intent to pick up a blade himself and go there as well was another testament to how serious this situation was.

Odin's eye flickered to Jane and back to Frigga, "Take her to your chambers. I'll come for you when it's safe."

Frigga looked over, controlling the frown that wanted to appear on her face when she saw even more soldiers marching past, Sif among them. She turned back to Odin, "Take care," she whispered.

Odin gave her a fond smile, reaching out to touch her face gently, "Despite all I have survived, my Queen still worries for me."

"It's only because I worry over you that you have survived," she told him, a soft chuckle forming in her throat as she thought of another who seemed to have survived because others cared for him, because one woman in particular cared for him more than anything.

She wanted that, so badly, for Thor as he grew up, to have someone like Odin had her. She was not so blind to the flaws of her sons as many would believe her, but she had the infallible hope that they would mature and grow out of them, recognize them and grow to be better men because of them. Thor had done so and she had hope for Loki. She saw Thor growing older, had seen his flaws and his strengths, and she had wanted for someone who would see the flaws, who would still love him despite them, but also be able to help him grow through them as well. Thor's friends, the Warriors Three and Sif had been around him for so long, had looked to him as a prince and friend and she had feared that they would follow him blindly at times. They felt such honor and loyalty to Thor, both as prince and friend, that she knew, despite their arguments, overall they would do as Thor wished…as she'd seen in the Jotunheim fiasco.

Athena…she was different. She had come to Asgard, to be a warrior, and seen Thor first as just another warrior, had learned he was prince after the fact, after she'd made her first impression of him. THAT had stuck with her for so long that she saw Thor as a man and a warrior first. She saw his flaws, she argued with him, but she still stayed at his side but she made him think in ways the others didn't. She was…like Loki in a way, she studied Thor, she understood him, she knew what to say to get through to him. She had never been so relieved as when she'd seen them growing closer, seen the care that developed between them. When she saw them together she saw them as merely her son and the woman he loved, but she could so easily see them as the king and queen of Asgard when Odin stepped down from the throne.

She had wanted her son to have a good, wise, strong woman at his side and now he did and she knew that, one day, when she and Odin passed on to Valhalla, her son would be well cared for and safe so long as Athena was at his side.

She gave Odin a quick kiss, shaking herself from her thoughts, and turned to walk briskly down the hall, Jane scurrying after her as she pulled a small short sword from a scabbard of a soldier as he passed them, "Listen to me now," she told Jane quietly, making no outward indication that she'd done anything like what Jane had seen, "I want you to do everything I ask, no questions."

Jane swallowed hard, "Yes ma'am."

Frigga smiled a little at that. Sif had once come to her, after Thor and Athena returned with her and the others from Earth, and expressed she was slightly concerned about the two of them, that there had been two women on earth, Jane and a Darcy woman, and that Jane seemed fond of Thor. She had asked Sif if she was worried that Jane might pose a threat to the relationship between Thor and Athena, but…she couldn't see it now. Jane was clever, yes, but in a situation like this…she was rather lacking in the needed knowledge and experience. She deferred to her instead of asking questions (a true queen must always ask no matter who orders her silent), instead of offering opinions, instead of coming up with a battle plan of her own.

No, Jane was not a threat to Thor and Athena, for if Athena were there…she would take charge of her own safety and ensure the safety of others in the process.

~8~

A fierce rumble shook the dungeons, sending all within to the ground as the sound of a terrible explosion went off above them, shaking rubble and some pieces of the ceiling off and landing around them. It was both a blessing and a curse that this had happened when it had though. It was a blessing because most of the marauders had been dealt with, either killed or shoved into one of the few cells that still was standing. But it was a curse because that meant that most of the people still left in the prison were the guards, Volstagg, Fandral, Thor and Athena, which made them the prime targets for the pieces falling around them.

Athena pushed herself up, looking around and offering Fandral a hand up, as the others moved to their feet as well.

"What was that?!" Volstagg coughed, the dust from the ceiling floating around him.

They looked up, feeling the room shaking again, not quite as badly as before, before they looked at each other, realizing just what it was. Something of that force, able to shake the room as badly as it had, to cause that reaction, something had to have been launched right at the palace. It shouldn't have been able to hit it though, Heimdall would have seen any attack coming and would have raised the shields around the palace if it was some sort of threat that he couldn't take out himself.

THAT worried them even more, for something to be that dangerous that Heimdall felt the need to lift the shields, then they would be needed out in the palace as well. Because this wasn't just a prison break any longer, they realized, it was a full on attack on the palace.

Thor glanced over at Loki, unsure if he should feel relieved or angered that Loki himself seemed slightly uneasy about what was going on. He knew that expression on Loki's face, it was what often appeared when Loki wasn't expecting something, but equally he knew that it was also the expression he'd worn when the idea that Loki should come to Jotunheim had been brought up as well, as though it were a change in the plan that he hadn't been planning on. It could mean that he genuinely had no idea what was happening, or that he'd started something that was getting out of hand now.

"Come," Thor turned to Volstagg and Fandral, Athena as well, "We shall move to protect the palace, you men," he looked to the remaining guards, "See to the prisoners," he was confident enough that the guards could take it from there, knowing that there were too many innocent lives in the palace halls that would need them to help with.

He turned and led the three of them out of the room as Loki looked on, rushing up the stairs and to the main halls of the palace. It was utter chaos, they could see it now. They braced themselves, seeing one of what seemed like many ships crashing into the palace, before turning to rush out towards it. The ships weren't bomb-like, they weren't weapons, they weren't meant to be used to cause actual damage, no, they were carrier ships. There was something in them, likely warriors or an army, that was being used to breach the walls of the palace and enter, to cause even more battles to come up within. They had to stop them, they had to get there and see what it was and who was attacking.

"Athena?" Thor looked at her as they neared a window, seeing another ship going soaring past them.

She squinted at it, knowing what he was asking about, if she recognized the make of it, the style, who might be using them. Of the two of them, she had been the one to study the strategies and weapons of their enemies more than him. For many, many years he had been set on the attacking with instinct, to use his weapons against another without truly knowing what another was capable of, loving the challenge. It had only been recently that he had begun to actively start to study the methods of Asgard's past and current enemies, but Athena had been studying it long before he had.

"I don't recognize it," she shook her head, "It's…there are no records I've read of a craft like that."

Which meant it was either a very new enemy…or a very old one.

"But…I think I know who they are," she swallowed, seeing one landing near the bottom of the palace courtyard, her eyes focusing in on the pointed ears of the pale creatures that were running out, "Dark Elves," she breathed, they were the only thing she could think of, it would explain how the cells were so easily escaped from, they had no knowledge of the Dark Elves technology, they wouldn't know what weapons they were capable of..

"We must warn father!" Thor declared, turning and running out with Fandral and Volstagg.

Athena began to run after them, only to skid to a stop when her breath caught in her, a realization hitting her as the pieces fell into place.

The Dark Elves…Odin had said their main weapon was the Aether…and the Aether was in Jane! She closed her eyes a moment, taking a deep breath, the Elves had to be there for it, they were there to reclaim it. That was what this whole mess was about! Get into the palace from the dungeons, escape and disengage their protection, the shield that should have come up, allowing more Elves in as backup. And with the Elves fighting in key points in the palace…

It was a distraction.

The Elves were there for the Aether and needed everyone to be distracted and in another place than where the Aether was. She knew that, upon attack, the Queen was to return to her rooms and be protected. Frigga had said she would take Jane with her and protect her.

Her eyes flew open and she turned, running back the opposite way, running for the royal quarters of the palace.

The Queen was in danger!

~8~

Frigga sat in her chambers, Jane beside her as they waited, listening to the sounds of the battle raging just outside the doors. They had seen the ships approaching, seen them flicker into view from an invisibility device. They had seen the shield meant to protect them start to rise only to fall moments later, allowing the ships access to the palace, allowing what she had told Jane were Dark Elves to enter their sanctuary. They could hear it, all around them, the sounds of the guards fighting, the Elves making war, the sharp sounds of metal against metal, the cries of those dying and wounded.

But they remained in the chambers, one room with one entrance was easier to defend than the halls where they could come from any direction. And they were HER chambers, she knew them better than anyone else, she knew where her weapons were hidden, where the secret passages were, every step and nook and cranny. If a battle was about to go down, this was where it would happen. She was the Queen and she would decide where she fought her battles, her husband wasn't the only clever and wise ruler around.

She stood slowly when she heard a crash from outside the doors, keeping her gaze on it as Jane stood behind her as well, more fearful than brave as she was. She understood though, the girl was mortal and they had both worked out what the Dark Elves were after, the Aether, which was hidden away inside the girl. But she refused to allow them to harm a single hair on her head, not only because the girl was living and breathing and innocent in all this, but also because if the Elves managed to extract the Aether…it would mean the end of them all.

She took a step forward, placing herself between the doors and Jane, facing them down as they were thrown open and what could only be the leader of the Elves entered. He was a broad man, with pale skin, no hair, sharp features, pointed ears to truly give him the Elfin appearance, along with armor covering nearly all of his body. He had come prepared, he had come ready and willing to fight to get what he wanted, but she wouldn't let him. She subtly gestured Jane to move back as she straightened to her regal height.

"Stand down, creature, and you may still survive this," she told it.

But the creature just sneered at her, "I have survived worse, woman," he growled, his voice guttural.

"Who are you?" she demanded.

"I am Malekith, and I would have what is mine!" he strode towards Frigga.

She glanced back at Jane, knowing that he meant to come for her, for the Aether, her fears confirmed. She gave Jane another nod, the woman scurrying back even more, hiding behind a pillar as Frigga turned the sword she had taken off the guard around in her hand, readying herself for the fight to be had. She quickly shifted it once more, placing the hilt in her hand, the blade towards her elbow, and slammed her fist against Malekith's face, a small move she had taught Athena to use once.

Malekith seemed to enjoy the challenge as he pulled his own sword out, smirking at her and lunched, the two of them starting to fight, their swords clashing, fighting with all their might. Frigga was a worthy opponent, a truly strong warrior and very skilled. She quickly managed to disarm him, elbowing him in the face as she spun around, and pinned him down with her sword at his throat, grinning in triumph.

But she gasped a moment later when she was shoved to the side, thrown into a pillar when one of Malekith's soldiers entered, a large, brutish, monstrous creature that growled and roared at her, lunging for her to grab her when a sword swung down on it, severing its arm that was reaching for her. Frigga looked up, her breath leaving her when she saw Athena standing over her, kicking the monster back with a firm kick to the chest, using the pillar behind her for extra leverage. She tried to get up, struggled to do so but her back was screaming in agony, she was not as young as she once was and she could see Malekith using Athena's distraction with the larger brute against her to try and grab at Jane.

"You have something, child," Athena looked over to see Malekith approaching Jane, but could do nothing for it as she fought the brute before her, keeping it back and away from Frigga as the woman crawled away, "Give it back!" he reached for Jane, but his hand went through her, making her dissolve in a small flicker of light, much like the projections that Loki and Frigga used, "Witch!" he rounded on Frigga, glaring at her, "Where is the Aether!"

"We will never tell," Frigga glared.

Malekith let out a fierce roar and tried to stride towards her, but Athena managed to slash the brute back and get in Malekith's way. She swung her sword down, forcing the man to block her blow, attacking him on instinct as Thor always tried to get her to do. This was not a time for a plan, this was not a time to focus on how Malekith fought, there was no time for much of anything except fighting. She had to stop Malekith, she couldn't let him get anywhere near Frigga…

"No!" she screamed, seeing that the brute had managed to go after Frigga while she fought with Malekith, that he was lifting the woman up by the arm, making the queen cry out in pain…

And in her distraction, Malekith grabbed her wrist and twisted, turning her blade and made his move…driving her own sword into her gut.

Athena's head snapped back, looking at Malekith as he smirked cruelly back at her, and sank to the floor, the sword sliding out of her as he held it in his hands.

"NO!"

Frigga's horrified gaze flashed from Athena falling to her knees, to Thor, standing in the doorway, his eyes wide, his expression hardening, as he saw the two Elves in the room, as he saw his mother in one's grasp and the woman he loved kneeling on the ground, her hand to her gut where her hand was already stained red with blood.

Thor's angered, furious, murderous gaze snapped up to Malekith as he let out a primal roar and half-threw Mjolnir in their direction, summoning lightning and sending it blasting at the Elves, striking Malekith and burning one side of his face. Malekith stumbled back, crying out in pain, as Thor threw Mjolnir right at the brute, striking it in the face and forcing it to drop Frigga to the ground. He summoned the hammer back to his hand, running into the room as the two Elves made for the balcony at the side of the room. He threw the hammer once more, knocking them over the edge, though he didn't even bother to see if what became of them as a ship rose only moments later and shot off, but that wasn't his focus…

He dropped to his knees before Athena, who had fallen back on her legs, half-hunched over, staring at the floor in a daze, "Athena!" he reached out for her, Frigga managing to scramble to her feet and make her way over to him as well, "Athena!" he took her face in both of his, making her look at him, but he almost wished he hadn't.

Her face was pale, her eyes glassy, her breathing short and she was shaking. He could see the pain in her eyes and he swore he could almost feel the life in her fighting to remain there.

"Athena…"

He didn't even look up when Odin appeared in the doorway, Fandral and Volstagg and Sif with him, when Jane stepped out from a side room and gasped at the sight, nothing could pull his gaze away from the woman before him.

"Athena…" he shook his head, needing her to talk, needing her to say something, anything, to let him know she was alright.

"Thor," she breathed out, lifting her hand, not even seeming to realize that it was covered in red as she placed it on the back of his hand.

He nearly flinched at the feel, her hand was cold, her blood was warm, but he said nothing, just searched her eyes. He needed to focus on that, on the light in her eyes, on the life still in them, if he could just hold her gaze, hold her attention, keep her awake...it would be fine. It HAD to be fine. SHE had to be fine.

She blinked rapidly at him, the smallest of smiles on her face, before her eyes fell closed and she fell forward, into his arms as he scooped her into them.

The last thing she heard before her world went black was the sounds of Thor shouting for the healers…

A/N: Frigga lives! I know it's a deviation from the movie, but I felt like Athena, of all people, with how much she's depended on to make battle plans and strategies, would work out what the Elves were planning and would go to Frigga first ;)

But...what does this mean for Athena? :(

Some notes on reviews...

Nope, Frigga lived :) But nope, Frigga isn't Thor's birth mother either :) It was mentioned earlier in the series. Thor's mother is listed as Gaea :)


	6. The Goddess of Wisdom

The Goddess of Wisdom

Thor was standing in the Healing Room, Athena on one of the examination beds much like Jane had been except she wasn't being scanned like Jane had. She was just…lying there, far too pale, far too still, her breath coming far too shallowly. He had been right in what he'd seen of her eyes when he'd fallen to his knees before her, she was fighting, she was fighting to hold on, to live. Even now, she was fighting.

She had been stripped of all her armor by Sif and Frigga and two of the healers, leaving her in only her boots, skirt, and the cloth that she wore under her armor, like a sleeveless tunic that had been cut by the healers to just under her bust as he absolutely refused to leave the room and they were not about to expose her like that to him. It had been enough though, the wound was in her gut, she'd been run clear through with the Dark Elf, Malekith's, sword. She'd been gravely wounded, fatally wounded, and if she hadn't been fighting as hard as he knew she was just to keep breathing, he was sure she would have truly died.

The moment she'd collapsed into his arms, he'd picked her up and run for the healers, not even allowing the call to the guards that Sif had given for the healers to be heard just…running with her to them. He didn't even stop to see who was following him, didn't (he knew he would regret later) even take a moment to look around at the other guards and Warriors that had been cut down or wounded, just run into the room and demanded help for her. Two Healers had been spared to tend to her but all that they could offer was to clean and bind the wound, to wrap it with some salve…

Because the wound wasn't healing.

Jane had run in with Frigga shortly after that, Sif having been close at his own heels and helping the healers, she'd asked why the wound wasn't healing, why the healers seemed so shocked that their glowing crystals and other 'magic' wasn't working, why the wound wasn't closing. For a moment it had been thought that the blade the Dark Elf had used was cursed somehow, that it prevented normal healing. But Odin had shaken that theory away and the truth came to Thor and Sif at his words.

Asgardian magic could not heal Athena, it never could, not in the past and not now.

Thor and Sif had seemed shocked by that, at the notion that their healers had failed to heal her in the past. They always sustained injuries in battle, in sparing and duels, in combat. Bruises and cracked ribs and cuts were common among them. They were not gentle in their training, they couldn't afford to be, but the idea that all the injuries that Athena had endured had been unable to heal was shocking to them. Oh they were well aware that Athena carried bruises for longer than they did, but she had always claimed it was because she preferred to tend to her own wounds, that she wanted to show off her bruises, wear them like proud battle scars of sorts, badges of her courage and strength. They had tried, numerous times, when she had been particularly harmed, to get her to go to the healers, but she always refused.

Or they always thought she refused but now…now they were realizing it wasn't that she didn't want to be healed, it was that, for some reason, their healers never managed to do it, to heal her like they had others. They knew a few soldiers who didn't trust healers, who preferred their own remedies and their own selves to tend to their wounds so they hadn't given much thought to Athena refusing the Healers in that sense. Now they wished they'd forced her to the healers, because then they would have at least known that there was something wrong with her, something different that the healers couldn't use their normal methods for.

But that was a true danger now, because that would could be treated, the healers should have been able to, she should have up and about by now, if a little sore, but there she was, lying on the glowing bed, her one hand resting just above her wound, clutching the coin necklace she wore as her breath came in ragged gasps of pain.

"What can we do?" Sif looked at the healers and Odin, "There must be something!"

"Mm…" Athena's voice rasped up to them, making them look down as she slowly blinked awake, her eyes drooped though and weak.

Thor grabbed her free hand that was resting beside her tightly, "Athena…" he breathed, "Please…rest."

"My…" she swallowed hard, seeming to struggle to talk, to focus on them long enough.

"Save your strength," Sif turned to her, placing a hand on her forehead.

But Jane frowned, seeming to realize she was trying to tell them something, "Your what?" she asked.

"Br-brother," Athena let out in one breath, "F-find him. C-c-call h-him."

Thor and Sif looked at each other, not sure what she meant.

"Her brother is a skilled healer," Frigga offered them, "He…he may be able to heal her in a way we cannot."

Thor swallowed hard and looked to his father, "How do we contact them?" he asked, getting the sense that his parents knew more about Athena's family than they were letting on.

As far as he knew, she didn't speak of them often, with anyone, so that had to mean…his parents knew her family personally. He needed to know who they were, where they were, to send Heimdall or a messenger to them. He…only just realized he didn't actually know where Athena hailed from in Asgard, she had just shown up with some new recruits, many coming from all over Asgard and that was one unspoken custom among the warriors, they cared not where someone came from and only about what someone could bring to battle. He truly had no idea where her family lived, what their names were, who to send for help, nor even which brother was the healer.

"Water," Athena murmured, her eyes blinking rapidly as she struggled to remain awake, "Waterfall…"

Sif frowned, "The waterfall?" she shook her head, not understanding, looking to Thor as though she feared Athena was growing delirious.

"The mist," Athena swallowed, her hand around her necklace starting to tug, "The…rainbow…rainbow bridges…" she winced, letting out a pained groan as she managed to yank the necklace from around her neck, jarring her body, "Call her…" she moved her arm to the side, clutching her necklace, till it was half hanging off the examination table, right by Jane's hand and opened her own to offer her the coin, "Take it," she panted, trying to shift her arm more, waiting till Jane took it from her, "Call her…" she started to slur her words as she struggled to remain conscious, just needing to tell them one more thing, just one more, but she felt so, so weak…

"Call who?" Jane took her hand, squeezing it like Thor was her other, "Athena, who do we call?"

Athena let out one final breath, one final word before her head lulled to the side and darkness consumed her once more.

"Iris."

~8~

"I do not understand this," Thor muttered as he and Jane stood at the edge of one of the waterfalls of Asgard, the closest one, Sif having remained in the Healing Room with Frigga to watch over Athena while Odin, Fandral, and Volstagg saw to the palace and the guards after the attack.

He didn't want to leave the room, he wanted to ask his father and mother who Athena's family were, how to contact them, thinking Athena's mumblings to be a fever or blood loss or her being delirious from the pain. Her words made no sense, none at all to him, and he feared that it was a sign that she was near the end, that she had begun to talk such nonsense. He didn't want to move from her side, if…if it was the end he wanted to be there with her. He had nearly lost her once before, to Loki and his Chitauri blade, Loki would have been the last thing she saw before she died and he had sworn to himself that he would never again allow that to be. He would be there with her to her end or his and he would not ever allow that promise to be broken.

Yet here he was, standing at the edge of it with Jane instead of with the woman he loved, a woman fighting for her next breath and holding on. But…if her last request had been for her brother, he owed it to her to find him. If she thought the waterfall was important, he would go there first and then beg of Heimdall to look for her family

"I do," Jane swallowed, clutching Athena's coin necklace in her hand, "At least I think I do."

"Then explain it," he demanded, in no mood for more cryptic words or hints, he wanted to know what was going on.

Jane took a breath, "After you and Athena left earth, I did some reading on the both of you," she began, "On the Norse myths of Thor, and the Greek myths of Athena…" she glanced at him, seeing that he seemed confused as to why she would do that…and realized it wasn't confusion that she'd read them, but confusion as to why she'd chosen THAT Athena to look into, "This is a Greek drachma," she told him, holding up the coin for him to see, "In the myths, people would make offerings of a coin to the gods, like…like a wishing well," she winced, knowing he probably didn't know what a wishing well was but there was enough to understand what it could be, "If I'm right…this," she took the coin back, "This will connect us to her family."

"How?" he shook his head, not understanding how a coin could do such a thing.

"Because Iris…" Jane stepped closer to the edge, to the mist that was being created by the waterfall, the light catching upon it and making rainbows appear in it, "Iris is the Greek Messenger Goddess, she's a link between earth and the gods, and she has a Rainbow Bridge of her own."

And without another word she threw the necklace towards the mist, not even giving Thor a moment to try and snatch it from her for how she was tossing away Athena's necklace…

But the instant it touched the rainbow in the mist…it passed through it and disappeared in a flash of light and, within the mist, it was like a portal or a window had opened up.

A woman was standing there, blinking at them, her mouth falling open for a moment before she waved her arm out, extending the window so it was full sized. She was a young woman, blonde hair hanging free, with what seemed like shimmering wings on her back that caught the light and making rainbows appear in them. She was wearing what appeared to be sleeveless white gown, so white and shining that it seemed to replicate her wings and catch different colors on it, with a V-neckline, a rope around her waist and a skirt that went only to her knees, with sandals that strapped and wrapped up her shins on.

"Who are you?" she demanded, "How did you…" before her gaze hardened, "Where it Athena!? What have you done with her?!"

"Iris?" Jane began, eyeing the woman, before shaking her head, "Athena has been injured," she told the woman, seeing that Thor seemed in shock at what they were seeing, looking back when Iris gasped, her hands flying to her mouth at her eyes widened, "She…she's been very badly injured. She…she requested her brother. Um…" she bit her lip, taking a shot in the dark, "Apollo?"

Iris nodded, "A moment," she told them, and turned, zipping off into the sky, leaving a rainbow in her wake.

"I…" Thor began to speak, or try to, "I don't…" he shook his head, truly trying to catch up with what was happening before him.

But before Jane could even try to give her own theories on this, that Athena was actually THE Athena, the Greek Goddess of War, Strategy, Crafts, and Wisdom and a slew of other characteristics, Iris was back, a man with blonde hair beside her.

Jane's mouth nearly dropped open at the sight of the man. He was tall, muscular, but lean in a way that Thor wasn't, with blonde curls, tanned skin. He was wearing a stark white cloth, wrapped around his waist and thrown over his shoulder, a lyre strapped on his back, gold sandals on his feet.

"Athena has been harmed?" the man spoke, his voice deep but with a musical quality to it, which should be expected of a god of music and healing and prophecy.

"Yes," Thor spoke, pushing his confusion on the entire situation away to focus on Athena's situation, "She was wounded in battle," the man, Apollo seemed to stiffen at that, "She was stabbed protecting the queen. Our…our healers can do nothing."

"Of course they can't," the man's jaw tensed, "Asgardian healing would not work on an Olympian," he stated, "Iris?" he turned to her.

Iris bit her lip, "It will only last a few hours," she warned him.

"Understood, if you will?" he gestured at them.

Iris let out a breath and waved her hand, the window seeming to become more solid around the edges as Apollo neared it…and stepped through, "Take me to Athena," he demanded the instant he was on their side, standing before them, "We have not much time."

~8~

Apollo stopped short as he entered the Healing Room, his gaze on Athena, lying there on the table, instead of on Sif or the Queen on either side of her, "Oh Thena…" he murmured as he slowly approached her, reaching down to take her hand, her cold hand in his own.

"She doesn't like when people call her that," Sif remarked, eyeing him warily, understanding he was likely her brother, the one that she had requested, but not trusting anyone she didn't know for certain who they were.

"Because we're the only ones allowed to," he countered, not even looking up or snapping at it, "Her brothers and sisters, WE called her it first, she won't let anyone else."

"Can you help her Apollo?" Frigga asked.

He looked up, giving the woman a soft smile, "I can, Queen Frigga."

Frigga gave him a soft smile in return but shook her head, "No need for formalities, she's nearly family."

He let out a small chuckle at that, "Ditey was right," he murmured, thinking of Aphrodite and what she had told him of Athena's love, "It IS serious then?" he looked at her.

"Very," she nodded, as though sending him a secret message.

He took a breath, returning his attention to his sister and placed a hand on her forehead, feeling it starting to burn up, before he moved his other hand onto her wound, wincing as she winced, "Sorry Thena," he murmured, "You've endured worse at Ares' hand, you can survive this," he told her, "Uncle does not want to see you in the Elysium Fields just yet you know."

Thor and Jane stepped closer as Apollo closed his eyes, a soft golden glow starting to appear under his hands, starting to surround him slightly as he focused on healing his sister. Well, half sister. They shared their father, but with how many children Zeus had had there was no point in holding onto formalities like step siblings or half siblings, they were all children of Zeus and for that fact they were all brothers and sisters. Thor looked over when he felt someone take his hand and squeezed back when he saw it was his mother, watching Apollo intently as he healed her.

"What is happening to her?" Sif demanded when she saw something…rather odd happening under one of Apollo's hands.

Athena's hair was turning brown!

"Magic cancels magic," Apollo murmured under his breath, "I knew she was jealous of my golden locks," he added, more of a joke in his voice, which, surprisingly, helped lighten the seriousness in the room. If he could joke about hair at a moment like this, with his sister so close to death, then it had to mean that she was slowly coming away from that brink, that she would be well, that HE wasn't worried.

"She…changed her hair?" Jane frowned, not understanding, "Why?"

"Brown-haired, grey-eyed Athene," Apollo spoke, "Is how she is depicted in your…myths yes?" he glanced at Jane, who nodded, "If she appeared here, with brown hair and gray eyes and her name?" he gave her a look, "Bit obvious. But to be as golden haired as the Asgardians?" he scoffed, "Athena's clever. She thinks her plans out. She wanted to fit in without question as to if she belonged. Golden hair among the golden haired is less suspicious than a woman who looks exactly like Athena should."

He returned his attention to his sister, focusing on healing her, on making sure she was safe and well. He could not begin to describe how thankful he had been when they had been told that Hades had not seen her wandering his realms after they got word of the Battle of New York from Ares, the man always just knew when a major battle was being fought. It had given them hope that Athena had survived and, when she had spoken to them through Iris, it had confirmed it and they had been so thankful that she lived. But now here they were…with Athena on the brink of death and he was fighting to bring her back. He would have to thank whoever had told them about how to contract Iris and get him there. He was just in time it seemed.

A moment later Athena gasped, her eyes flying open and her hand shooting up to rest on his on her stomach as she turned her gray eyes to him. She opened her mouth, it moving as though she were going to ask 'Pollo?' before she blinked and shook her head, "How's my owl?"

Apollo let out a deep laugh at that though there were tears in his eyes, "You nearly die, nearly scare ME to death in doing so, and that's what you ask of me?" but that was like her, that owl, one of the few gifts Hera had ever given her, "He's fine," he reassured her, his hand on her head lightly stroking her hair, "Artemis is taking good care of him, as you requested. But you," he gave her a pointed look, "You just can't go a day without getting injured, can you?" he smiled at her.

"Have to keep you all on your toes somehow," she joked before her smile started to fall.

"Yes, because seeing all those bruises on your very first day here did so much to reassure us you would be cared for."

"It was a tournament," she nearly rolled her eyes.

"You didn't have to fight so hard though."

"You know I did," she gave him a pointed look and he had to concede that. She had told them all about that moment. She was the new recruit, she was new in general, she didn't come from a widely warrior culture like the Asgardians were, she had much to prove to them, too much to prove to herself as well. She had thrown herself into that tournament, she had fought harder than he knew she had to, she probably had gone into it with the mentality that she would fight to win or die trying if it meant not being seen as a weak woman or a fool for wanting to be a warrior. Fighting with Ares was one thing, but he was one person, fighting with true warriors and being one of their group…she HAD to win, she had to show she had skill and that she had worth. Her expression started to grow confused as well, "How are you here?"

It was all such a blur to her. She remembered being stabbed, falling, she remembered Thor before her, then it was dark and it was just…a mishmash of images and sounds and pain and the next thing she knew…her brother was hovering over her.

Apollo held up his hand, her necklace dangling from it, "Seems someone threw this at Iris."

Athena blinked and took it back, normally she just dangled it into the rainbows of the waterfall, creating a window to see Iris, the gleam of the coin drawing her attention and making the window to look through. She hadn't been able to for a long time, when the Bifrost had been destroyed, it wasn't just the Asgardian Rainbow Bridge that had been weakened and shattered, but a shockwave that resounded through all the other worlds that destroyed them as well. She hadn't been able to contact her family till only recently, till the Bifrost had been returned and connections between the realms was being reestablished. They had been working on it in their world, working on helping Iris recreate the connection to the waterfall in Asgard.

But then Apollo's words caught up to her, if someone threw it at Iris…then they didn't know how to contact her.

Her gaze traveled to Thor who was standing there, looking at her with a frown on his face and she let out a breath, moving to sit up, Apollo helping her move.

"We shall give you a moment," Frigga told her, stepping up to her and placing a kiss to her hair, "I will tell Odin you have woken."

"I'll tell Fandral and Volstagg," Sif offered, glancing at Apollo and Jane and nodding at them to follow her.

Apollo lingered though, turning to Athena and squeezing the hand he was still holding, "Do NOT scare me like this again Thena," he told her quietly, leaning in to kiss her forehead, "You know if you go too far, Father will call you back."

She swallowed and nodded, "Thank you for coming Pollo."

He gave her a smile and another squeeze of the hand, before he turned to leave, Athena watching him go. She knew he'd come. He, Artemis, and Ares were her closest of siblings, even if they fought on opposing ends of wars at times, they were always close. He would come, no matter what. And…she liked to think, if she'd needed other members of her family, they would have come too, they were…getting closer, better, over the years.

She took a breath and looked at Thor, moving to sit with her legs over the side of the examination table instead of out before her. She glanced down, seeing a strand of her hair hanging over her shoulder and lightly touched it, turning it golden once more.

"Is there a point to that now?" Thor asked, still standing there, not sitting beside her.

She tried not to think there was a sense of betrayal in his voice, that she hadn't told him this all before, who she was, what she was, "I've grown rather fond of the yellow hair," she shrugged, and looked up at him again, "It adds a certain charm."

They were silent for a long while as she turned and looked at her stomach, starting to take the bandages off, not feeling ashamed or even deeply concerned about this situation coming out the way it had, "I never lied to you Thor," she began, "I have always been Athena, who I am is who I am. I don't believe I ever denied being her when others saw a similarity between she and I. I never lied about my family, in stories about my siblings. No one ever really asked and when they did, saying nothing is not the same as saying a lie," she glanced up at him, sighing as she saw him studying her, "Yes, I am Athena. Yes, I'm the Goddess of Wisdom, War, and Crafts, according to the humans at least. I have brown hair, my family is…bruised and battered and trying to do better. I have always hated gowns, I have always wanted to be a warrior, I am a 'Virgin Goddess' in the sense that I have never laid with a man, unlike Ditey who…I won't even start listing her torrid love affairs," she let out a breath and looked him in the eye, "I have never, ever lied about how I feel about YOU Thor."

She stood up, having finished unwrapping her stomach to reveal the flesh was perfectly healed, not even a scar to be seen, and moved over to where her armor was resting on another table, starting to put it on, "My breastplate was crafted by my brother Hephaestus, my sword stolen from my brother Ares, my owl with my sister Artemis, my brother Apollo used Morpheus, another relation, to met me in a dream before we went to New York to warn about Loki and the battle because he saw it in one of his visions. My father is Zeus, my mother is Metis, my step-mother Hera, I won't bother listing my many, many siblings and cousins and nieces and nephews as I'm sure, right now, the only thing you care about or are asking yourself is…why didn't I just tell you all this before?" she turned to him.

"No," he shook his head, looking at her, "What I am asking myself is…how I could not have noticed."

"Really?" she nearly scoffed, "Possibly because you don't concern yourself much with the 'gods' of others. The Nine Realms are your main concern Thor, I would not expect you to know of Olympus or other worlds like that."

He was silent for a long while, "Olympus?" he started and she nodded, "Is your home. It should be of my concern as well. It is important to you and should therefore be important to me," he looked at her, "How many of our customs have you learned? How many laws do you abide by? How many differences in culture did you have to experience? And I was unaware. I was unable to help you because I thought you needed no help. I thought you were Asgardian when I should have known, when it should have been clear to me, that you were nothing of the sort."

"And how could you have known Thor?" she shook her head, "I said nothing about it. I didn't come to you for help, I'm a clever girl, I worked it out for myself and anything I struggled with, Odin and Frigga helped me sort."

Thor nodded slowly at that, now even more aware that his parents had known, all along, where Athena truly hailed from and hadn't said a word. He wondered, briefly, why she hadn't said, why they hadn't said. He didn't care where she came from, he didn't care that she was Olympian while he was Asgardian. If anything…it made her even more unique, it intrigued him even more, the customs she had that they didn't, the legends and ideas her people had of the world and the humans. It was…better even, it gave him more of a reason to ask Odin a question he had been longing to ask Athena for so long now, a question he wasn't sure if his father would accept despite his hints that he would. This was something that made his question a part more political and beneficial, a part that would make his argument for it even stronger.

"I should have known," was all he repeated, taking a step towards her and reaching out to take her hand, "I should have known you were not of Asgard," he used his free hand to lift her chin to look him in the eye, to look her in the eye, "You were…" he tried to find the words, "You are, far too captivating to be something I see every day. Both in your beauty and your mind, your skills and your heart."

Athena smiled at that, "When did you start having a golden tongue?"

"A king, a man, always knows what to say to the woman he loves," he said simply, shifting his hand to touch her cheek, "I am not angry that you kept this from me. I never sought to know and I do know that you would have told me when you felt ready to. Your life is yours to tell and yours alone."

"I would have shared this with you," she felt she did have to tell him that, "I had thought, for a moment, when we were going to leave for a short while, to tell you then, away from the stress of the palace. But it was not to be."

He nodded, "I too had something I wished to share with you, ask of you," he agreed, "Athena…I…"

Athena leaned in and gave him a soft peck on the mouth, "I nearly died Thor," she reminded him, "I should like to wait till the shock and alarm has worn off for you, before you ask me anything that you felt we should be away from the palace and alone to ask."

He let out a soft laugh at that, "And I should like to ask it when we are not in the middle of a battle with new, ancient enemies," he murmured.

She smiled again, "Well then, we shall have to see these enemies dealt with before we share stories and ask questions then."

She turned and picked up her sword, slipping it into her sheath and grinned at him, Thor returning the smile as they turned and left the room, they had an enemy to see to.

A/N: I'm sorry this was late :( It was actually edited and ready to go earlier this morning, working my way back up to my normal posting hours. But I woke up to find that my mother had decided, the best way to get me to go get my hair done, would be to cut it while I was sleeping :( Even though it was an inch or two and a pretty straight cut (if slightly uneven) it was still upsetting and then having to go to a salon to get it fixed was another joy :( I just got back now and I'm currently not speaking to my mother for a short while, till she apologizes but I wanted to get the chapter up :)

As for this chapter...Athena lives! :) We'll find out much more about her and her being in Asgard later in this story, but I really wanted to just take a chapter to at least start to explain who Athena is. So...a few of you guessed it, she IS the real Athena ;) I know that, in myth, Athena is typically depicted as having dark hair, but she had blonde hair around Thor. I put a tiny, tiny hint about her hair in the first two stories though. When she was overlooking her home, her hair was 'dark' and when she was with Apollo in the dream her hair was 'brown' ;) I felt like, in Norse myth, golden hair was the norm (Sif originally having golden hair and so on), so I wanted Athena to try and 'blend in' by making her hair gold ;)

I also wanted to show how far Thor's come from the first story. If this had happened then, before his banishment, in terms of the story, he probably would have started shouting and suspecting her as a spy or feel betrayed she kept it from him and not trust her. But here, he's truly grown, he keeps quiet, he thinks it through, he thinks about what he DOES know of her and he accepts that it wasn't his secret to pry out of her. He knows enough of her to keep his calm and accept that this was something she would have told him, but ran out of time to do before fate forced her hand :)

I can say that Athena being the real Athena will have, and has had, an influence in the titles of the stories. Being the goddess of War and Strategy, being a patron of Humility and Wisdom ;) We'll see that come into play later as well :) I can say that her being the real Athena also helps explain why she's so set on logical thinking, on using what she knows of others and observation to fight, her battle plans, and how she tries to avoid fighting by coming up with plans than to fight and use instinct. She was very much an advisor and guider in myth, which she is here to Thor :) Also explains her fear of Spiders, I like to think Arachne was NOT happy about being turned into a bug lol :)

Some notes on reviews...

We've now got the physical appearance of her brother ;) And Iris too :) As for the rest of the family, we'll get more detailed talks about that coming up in a later chapter ;)

I sort of liked how Ocean's 11 had just the big group of guys robbing people :) So there probably won't be an OC there :)


	7. A Plan Unfolds

A Plan Unfolds

Thor stood on a balcony of the palace, one that overlooked the waterfall that Athena had so often spent her time there thinking. He knew now why she often disappeared there to be 'left to her thoughts,' it was probably in part that, it was a very peaceful location and it did seem to calm her thoughts down when he would sometimes sit with her. But he knew now that it was because it was the link she had to her home, the place where she could see and speak to her family at times. She had explained that, when he'd destroyed the Bifrost, it had resonated across the realms. He had sent it sinking while it was still active, while it was still expelling dangerous energy towards Jotunheim and, as it fell, it caused damage through the other worlds too, striking and breaking their web of connections, destroying the rainbow bridge that Iris had created to Asgard to allow her passage there.

He felt terribly guilty when he realized that his actions had caused her to be without her family for the time they were rebuilding the Bifrost and the bridge, but she had assured him it was only for a brief time compared to how long they could live and, as Apollo had proven, they could see each other again. That was why he was there, watching the waterfall, the two blonde haired Olympians were standing before it, the wide window-portal open with the vaguest hint of Iris standing on the other side. He knew that Athena was saying goodbye to her brother once more, that the portal to Asgard could only be maintained for so long before it would close. It took much out of Iris, Athena had explained, to open a portal like that and was only to be done in the most desperate of times.

Portals of the sort, between worlds, was hard to keep open, was hard to create in the first place. When Athena had first arrived, she'd been warned it would be a while before Iris would be strong enough to open a portal back to Olympus. A portal of the sort hadn't been attempted by the woman before and they didn't know how much it would take from her, how long it would last, if it would work. It had worked, Athena was there, as was Apollo. Iris had realized that it took more to open a portal from Asgard to Olympus than it did to open one from Olympus to Asgard as she was IN Olympus at the moment. It was why she'd left the portal open, so that Apollo could return easily. Athena had been told that it might take years before Iris would be able to open a portal on the Asgardian side to allow someone back to Olympus. She could do it now, she'd said, she had saved up enough strength and practiced enough but she hadn't wanted to test herself by closing the portal on Apollo.

But the time had come for the man to depart, to return back to Olympus and Thor was watching from above. He knew the bond between siblings and he didn't want to intrude on such a private moment. He wanted to give Athena the privacy to say goodbye but to know he was nearby if she needed him, so he watched from above as the two spoke. Apollo seemed to be asking her something, gesturing at the portal but Athena was shaking her head. The man seemed to hang his head a moment later but Thor could see a small smile on his face, as though he expected her answer, and merely gave his sister a hug and kiss to the forehead, touching the coin on the necklace around her neck, before he stepped through the portal, Athena watching as it closed.

He waited, watching her body language intently to see if she needed him to appear beside her and offer her comfort but she just took a deep breath and turned to walk towards the palace, back to him. He couldn't help but let his mind wander as he eyed the waterfall, it was one that flowed into a large river that went along the edge of Asgard, a large river that fell off the sides and into the abyss. It was where the great heroes were sent on their next journey in a true funeral that fit them.

He felt his hands clench into fists on the ledge of the balcony as his mind wandered. Athena had nearly died. If it hadn't been for her brother appearing when he had, she would have died, she would have been in a boat right now, drifting towards the edge of their world, a flaming arrow being sent at the boat till it burned and released her spirit. She would have had a proper hero's rite by them, for saving the Queen. But he closed his eyes, the image fading, knowing that it wouldn't have been so. Athena wouldn't have been in one of their boats and receiving their rites. She wouldn't have even been in Asgard.

Odin would have been forced to contact Athena's family, Athena's father, to let them know the news, to have them retrieve the body. She would have been taken from him to receive the rites of her own people. At its absolute worst the implications of her death hit him. Her father was Zeus, king of the Greek Gods, which made Athena every bit the princess that he was a prince. Her mother, Hera, was her step mother as was Frigga his own step mother. She was the first born of Zeus's children, the only one born to his first queen, much like he was the first born and only born of Odin's first as well. They were so much alike in that sense, and it hit him so much harder to know that, if Zeus had seen her death as a failure on their part to defend her…war could have broken out across the worlds. It would have been the Olympians vs. the Asgardians and he knew in his heart he wouldn't have been able to fight. That would be one battle he couldn't wage.

Because he would have deserved it.

It was HIS duty to defend Athena, not just as his beloved, not just as a princess, but as his friend. It was his greatest wish to see her safe and see her with him forever and he would have failed. He would have prostrated himself before Zeus and accepted any punishment the man doled out for his failure to protect his daughter because it would be due to him. Athena had nearly given her life to save HIS mother, to protect HIS realm, to save HIM the grief of losing her. And he would have lost her. He would have lost the one woman that had truly meant something in his life besides his mother, the one woman that had managed to capture his heart and protect it like a warrior could. He would have been without her and that fate, to live on without her beside him, would have been too cruel. And even if Zeus hadn't declared war he would still have reclaimed his daughter's body. HE wouldn't have been there to see her off into the afterlife, he wouldn't have gotten to say goodbye.

And he realized now…

He wouldn't have even seen her had he died as well.

She would have been in the Elysium Fields, her people's version of Heaven, while he would have been in Valhalla. They wouldn't have been together in the afterlife either. And that knowledge shook him to the core. He could not let her die, not now, not ever, he…he needed her with him too much. She was the source of his greatest strength, she was the one he fought harder for, the reason he was becoming the king that Asgard needed and he couldn't lose her. He didn't want to be without her, in this life or the afterlife and, knowing they couldn't be together should they have died, not yet at least, it made him even more resolved to keep her with him in this life, until he could be sure that, if anything ever happened, they would be together afterwards as well.

"Gloomy thoughts don't suit you Thor," Athena's voice spoke only moments before her arms wrapped around his middle from behind, her chin coming to rest on his shoulder.

"My thoughts are not gloomy," he countered.

"Liar."

He felt himself smile a little and turned, leaning back against the ledge of the balcony, sliding his hands down her arms to take her hands. He looked down at them a moment, relishing for just a second in how warm they were now. They had been cold before, too cold, he still couldn't erase the memory from his mind of when she'd touched his hand, the contrast between the cold of her hand and how warm her blood had been. He never wanted to experience something like that. A cut here or there was normal, that was fine, tying a cloth around her arm, he could handle, carrying her bleeding body down the halls and knowing that she had been run through was not something he had ever wanted to experience.

He felt like…it was something he'd needed to see though. Athena was skilled, as skilled a warrior as Sif was, which now made sense to him, being a Goddess of War and Strategy according to the mortals. It was normal for her to be such a skilled warrior, to be able to beat someone like Sif or him at times. The fact that her brother, Ares, was a God of War, he understood now that the brother she often sparred with and dueled with was him. It was why she had been so adept at besting him that first day here. His fighting style was similar to her brothers, brute strength, instinct, fighting for the sake of fighting where as Athena was more for strategies and finding weaknesses, for out thinking her opponent.

But this…this was something that he'd needed to see, he'd needed to be reminded that Athena wasn't invulnerable, she wasn't immortal in the sense the mortals thought they all were. She could be harmed, she could be killed, and she could be bested. He hadn't wanted to learn that lesson, have that reminder but it was necessary. He needed to not take her for granted, to think that she could face down any enemy and walk away unharmed. She could be beaten in battle, she wasn't perfect, neither was he, and he needed to do better at having her back as she'd always had his.

"Thor," Athena's voice cut through his thoughts again.

He let out a breath, "The Elysium Fields are not Valhalla."

She nodded, not needing more than that to know what was bothering him, "I came to that startling reminder when the Destroyer was on Earth."

His gaze shot up and locked on hers, seeing a soft understanding in her eyes and closed his own, letting out a breath as he realized that what he was feeling was likely exactly what Athena had, but nowhere near as badly as she had felt, when he'd been banished to Earth. Whereas he had the small comfort of knowing that she was immortal, that she could last and endure more and longer, that she'd been able to hold on till Apollo got there due to her 'immortal' quality, HE had been mortal. She must have been out of her mind with worry and fear and horror at what happened to him. And he realized now why she had jumped in the way of the Destroyer's blast, she hadn't wanted him to die as much as he didn't want her to.

"I apologize for frightening you then," he murmured.

"And I apologize for frightening you now," she squeezed his hand, making him look at her, "We are warriors Thor. We will always be facing down enemies, staring death in the face. We will not always walk away from a battle unscathed if we walk away at all."

"I don't want to lose you," he looked her in the eye, tugging her closer to him so he could move his arms around her.

"Nor I you," she smiled lightly, "So, we shall just have to work harder to protect each other in the future then," she moved her arms around his shoulders, "I have no plans to let you get away from me any time soon."

He laughed at that, "I have no plans of leaving you, Athena."

"Good," she leaned in, about to kiss him and reassure him once more, knowing this entire situation had truly gotten to him…

When Sif burst into the room, not even noticing them spring apart as she hurried over to them, a grim look on her face, "Odin has imprisoned Jane."

~8~

Thor and Athena stepped into the throne room, noticing it was nearly destroyed, the throne itself in ruins, and realized that the Dark Elf attack wasn't just to try and capture Jane but to make a statement against Asgard as well. But they had little time to think on that as they saw Odin standing there with some of his men, Frigga having gone to sit with Jane, according to Sif, the woman was against Odin's decision and had stormed off to tend to Jane in defiance of her husband's wish to lock the girl away. Odin was furious now, blaming Jane for the near death of his wife and for nearly inciting a war at the near death of Athena herself by being the target for the Dark Elf attack.

"We are still unable to restore the palace shields," Fandral was saying as he brought up a holographic projection of the palace, pointing out the damage that had been done, "Our artillery cannot detect them, even Heimdall cannot see them. My King, we are all but defenseless."

"She's your prisoner now?" Thor approached Odin.

For one brief moment, he had almost agreed with his father's decision. For one moment, thinking back to how Athena had gone to help his mother defend Jane, how she had worked out that the Elves were after the Aether, he had almost thought this was the best course of action, to lock Jane and the Aether away, feeling his anger rise, feeling the blame he wanted to direct at the woman for the harm that came to Athena. But it would do them no good, the Aether would still be there, the Elves would come for it again…and had it not been for Jane and how she'd worked out what Athena was trying to tell them, Athena WOULD be dead. He owed it to Jane to help her for her help in rescuing Athena.

"Leave," Athena turned to the men that were surrounding Odin, knowing that this would be between Thor and Odin, though she doubted Thor would allow her to leave his side after what happened, "Now."

The men, much to her surprise, actually did leave. She looked to Thor a moment, wondering if he had given them a look or if he had given them a jerking nod to tell them to leave but he hadn't moved, his gaze still on Odin. She had been fully excepting him to have to do either of those things, or to give the order himself, but the men merely departed, leaving the three of them in the room alone.

Fandral was smirking though.

She wasn't sure what that meant.

"I do not wish to fight with you," Odin turned to his son as the men left.

"Nor I with you," Thor agreed, "Which is why Athena stays," he gestured at her, knowing that he would be less likely to say something he would regret with her at his side, that Odin would be less likely to become too hostile with Athena there. He'd always been…more careful with his words and actions when Athena was around, he'd always thought it was because he was trying to show her what being an advisor was like, he was still her mentor after all, but now he was starting to think it was to do with the fact that he was trying to paint a good image of Asgard to a visiting Olympian, "But I intend to pursue Malekith."

"We possess the Aether," Odin shook his head, "Malekith will come to us."

"And in so doing you will be endangering all the lives in Asgard," Athena frowned, "Frigga will not leave her side. You will be putting your Queen in danger again."

"He will destroy us," Thor agreed as Odin opened his mouth to shout at her for her very valid point.

"You over-estimate the power of these creatures," Odin scoffed.

"I believe YOU underestimated them," Athena shook her head, "They attacked and not one of you realized they were heading for the Aether till it was nearly taken. And even then, you barely made a dent in their army."

"I value our people's lives," Thor stepped up, "Athena and I shall take Jane to the Dark World and draw the enemy away from Asgard. When Malekith pulls the Aether from Jane, it will be exposed and vulnerable, and I will destroy it and him."

"And if you fail?" Odin narrowed his eyes, "You risk this weapon falling into the hands of our enemies!"

"The risk is far greater if we do nothing," Thor argued, keeping his voice calm but firm, "His ship could be over our heads right now and we'd never even know it."

"If and when he comes, his men will fall on ten thousand Asgardian blades!"

"And how many of those ten thousand will survive?" Athena tried to reason, "The Dark Elves have had centuries to build their army, to advance their weaponry. WE didn't even realize who they were till it was too late. They were able to escape OUR dungeons because we were unfamiliar with their technology and weapons. How many of your people are you willing to risk just for the chance to avenge the slight against your wife?"

Thor would have winced at that, at that blatant reveal of what Odin had as his reasons for allowing the attack to come to Asgard. He was an old man, he couldn't travel that much, he wanted the Elves there, he wanted Malekith there so that HE could face the elf down that had nearly taken his wife. He wanted revenge for a crime that hadn't even happened. But what's more, he wanted to sooth his own guilt that he had let his wife come to such harm, let his people come to harm. He wanted to prove himself a capable protector, king, leader, and warrior…but he was failing to see that he was going to create the reason for that king to be a warrior again.

Athena just kept her gaze on Odin. She knew, better than most, how devastating it was to use others to fight your battles for you. Her family had removed themselves from Earth solely because of the paths and temptations the mortals had led them to. They had used the humans as their pawns, as their soldiers, had pitted them against each other, for sport. They had created wars and caused massive devastation and it had destroyed them as well. And now Odin was about to do the same, with his own people, and she would not allow it. Not while she was still welcome in Asgard, she would not allow them to use their people as pawns.

"As many as are needed!" Odin snapped, letting out a wheeze and moving to lean on his staff as though the shouting was taking too much out of him, "We will fight!" he straightened, "To the last Asgardian breath. And the last drop of Asgardian blood."

"And how are you different from Malekith?" Thor shook his head at his father.

Odin laughed at that, "The difference, my son, is that I will win."

Thor and Athena looked at each other as Odin turned and strode away, their faces troubled at how outrageous Odin's plan was. They knew he was angry that the elves had managed to breach the walls and enter the palace, that they had harmed his wife and nearly gotten the Aether, that they had nearly sparked another war. He wanted them finished, he wanted it to be on HIS terms, likely his last great act as king, defeating the Dark Elves as his father had done before him.

But they knew that the Elves would come in numbers far greater than their own and they would not allow the people to suffer for it.

~8~

Thor and Athena sat in a tavern, waiting. They had sent out word to Fandral, Volstagg, Sif, and Heimdall to meet them there to discuss the threat to Asgard. They trusted that Jane would be safe with Frigga for now, that, if anything was happening with the Aether, that Frigga would call for guards and they would be made aware of what was going on. But for now, they had to think of the larger picture. They had to focus on the good of Asgard, the Aether, and Jane as well. If they were too late, the Dark Elves might attack, or Jane could die and the Aether be released to latch onto someone else, or there was just a number of dangers to come. And Odin was too far in his anger to think clearly.

It was…enlightening to Athena, to see the difference from the Odin she had always known to the Odin he was now. He was weary, all the trials and strains of kingship and fatherhood and betrayal were starting to tear at him. He was nearing his end as a capable king and she knew that this situation was not helping Thor any. To have his home under attack, his parents at odds, his former-brother locked away, his love nearly dead, and his father slowly losing his mind…it was not going to be easy for him. But he was handling this so well and she was so proud of him for it. He was putting aside his personal issues and thoughts to focus on what his people needed of him and needed him to do.

She smiled as she leaned over, putting a hand on his arm so he would look at her, "I am so proud of you Thor," she had to tell him, she just wanted him to know. They hadn't even really done anything yet and she needed him to understand that she was proud of how he was handling himself, how calm he was being and rational and how he was thinking things through.

He gave her a smile and leaned in, pressing a kiss to her forehead in thanks, looking over when he heard footsteps approaching despite the noise of the tavern to see Heimdall had joined them. The man sat down before them and pulled his helmet off, setting it beside him.

"You're not in Odin's war council?" Thor eyed him, he knew why Athena was not. When she had agreed with HIM and his plan to try and do this subtly, Odin had forbid her to join his council to plan for the next attack by the Dark Elves. He was convinced that Athena would be a spy for him and it just proved how his time as king was rapidly approaching.

"The Bifrost is closed by your father's orders," Heimdall shook his head, "No one is to come or to go. We face an enemy that is invisible even to me. What use is a guardian such as that?"

"You know as well as we do that Malekith and his Elves will return," Athena looked at him as Heimdall nodded solemnly, "We require your assistance."

"I cannot over-rule my King's wishes," Heimdall frowned.

"Not even for your future king?"

"Not even for Thor," he agreed.

"We are not asking you to," Thor cut in, "The realms need their Allfather strong and unchallenged, whether he is or not," he looked down as Athena placed a hand on his under the table, knowing it upset him terribly to think that his father was slowly ceasing to become strong and capable, "But he is blinded, Heimdall. By hatred and by anger. But I see clearly enough."

"The risks are too great," Heimdall shook his head.

"No matter what we do next Heimdall, the risk will just grow higher," Athena argued, "But there is one risk that is smaller than most. One that would mean less harm befall Asgard. You are its protector, it is your duty to ensure she is as safe as possible. THAT is what we are proposing, all we need is you to do your duty. On Odin's orders you are to guard and protect this realm, what Odin is proposing is not for Asgard's safety."

Heimdall was quiet, considering the loophole she was giving him, Odin had appointed him to protect the realm. And if that meant helping Thor and Athena to do so, he should do it. Odin could not punish him for the duty he himself had placed upon him, "What do you require of me?"

Thor gave him a grateful but sad smile, "What I'm about to ask of you, father will see as treason of the highest order. Success will bring us exile and failure shall mean our death."

"Malekith _knew_ the Aether was here," Athena told him, "His entire attack was meant to distract us so that he could go reclaim it. He had no way of knowing where exactly it was unless he could sense it somehow."

"If we do nothing he will come for it again, but this time lay waste to all of Asgard," he glanced at Athena and then to Heimdall, "We need a distraction."

"Of what sort?" another voice spoke up, a little too loudly but Volstagg in a tavern was hardly ever listened to when he was greeting others.

They looked over to see him, Fandral, and Sif approaching, joining them at the table.

"Large enough to get Jane out of Asgard," Athena told them.

Sif frowned, "The Bifrost has been shut down and the Tesseract locked away in the vault."

"I think my family has proven there are other ways in and out of Asgard," Athena spoke up, "Iris will not risk allowing Jane to Olympus, the portal will not allow mortals through."

It was why they were no longer able to connect to Earth, they had made a pact as a family, the mortals were their downfall and their greatest temptation. To save their family, they had to cut themselves off from the mortals. They were to stay away and no mortals were allowed to join them. Iris's ability to connect to earth had been bound. Travel from Olympus to other worlds worked, but she could not open portals to Earth any longer.

"There are other paths off Asgard," Heimdall agreed, "Ways known only to a few."

"One, actually," Thor remarked.

"No," Volstagg shook his head, knowing that Thor meant Loki.

"He will betray you!" Fandral cried.

But Thor just smirked, "He will try."

"One cannot be betrayed when expecting a betrayal to happen," Athena remarked wisely, "Betrayal can only come from your allies and if Loki is never treated as such, he cannot betray us."

"You would have to break him out first," Volstagg reminded them.

"And let's say you do," Fandral rolled his eyes, "What then? Your mortal ally is being guarded by a legion of Einherjar guards who will see you coming from miles away."

"Athena and I will not be the one who comes for her," Thor looked at Sif pointedly.

Sif frowned but didn't argue, "And what of the Allfather?"

Heimdall started to nod, understanding the distraction that Thor had requested of him, "It is my sworn duty to notify him of crimes against authority," he began, "He would have to come to me if something were to happen with the Bifrost…" if the Bifrost opened, then Odin would assume they had escaped and come to him. It would give them enough time to slip out the back so to speak.

"And how will you get away?" Volstagg shook his head.

"You would need a craft," Fandral agreed.

Athena smirked, "I believe that is where you two come in."

Fandral and Volstagg looked at each other, inwardly groaning, knowing that this was not going to end well for them but...what else was there for them to do? Asgard was in danger, their home, and a plan was being hatched to save it. Thor would not dare do this again, go behind his father's back and under his nose to see his own plan through if it wasn't for the betterment of Asgard. This was not like Jotunheim, this was not him rushing off with a fool's idea. This was carefully thought out, they could tell, Thor actually had a plan this time and this time it wasn't his own pride that was driving him but his desire to protect his people.

Athena glanced at Thor, the two of them sharing a small, but strained smile. This would be difficult to accomplish, they would have to be careful. But they also knew, the most difficult part wouldn't be sneaking out or getting Jane free...

It would be getting Loki to agree to, and trusting him enough to, help them.

A/N: Ooh, and the tension mounts :) I can't wait for the next few chapters :) I hope you liked the beginning of this, Thor's thoughts on Athena if she died :( I feel like it might have been harder for Athena when he was banished on Earth, being mortal and being the only one aware that, if he died, their after-lives would be in different places :( I can say there IS one way where they'd go to the same place, but we'll have to wait and find out what it is ;)

Some notes on reviews...

Apollo gave Athena back her necklace in the last chapter :) The coin was like the key to call Iris, it just had to be dangled there, but Jane threw it through and Iris caught it ;) So she has her necklace back ;)

Aww, thanks so much! I'm really glad you're enjoying this story and that you liked Cora and Marayna ^-^ I always try to keep as true to the show/movie as I can but also giving it an original feel so I'm so glad that you think I'm managing it, it means so much to me :')


	8. A Daring Escape

A Daring Escape

"Are you certain you want to do this Thor?" Athena asked as she gently stopped Thor on the steps down to the dungeon, Loki's cell the only one visible to them with the lights still on and the glass still set, Loki sitting on a chair, reading within.

"We must," Thor sighed, his eyes on his former-brother, "Loki is the only one who knows the paths out of Asgard that might give us a chance at success in our endeavor."

Athena reached out, placing a hand on his arm as he tried to enter the room, stilling him and making him look at her, "I meant, are you certain YOU wish to speak to him Thor," she searched his eyes, any sign of discomfort and she would try and ease it, "It is…incredibly hard to speak to those you see as family when they have betrayed you. It hurt Thor. It hurts to look them in the eyes and see nothing but anger and hatred directed back at you."

She knew that better than most. Her uncle, Poseidon, he had been her favorite uncle…which was understandable given that her other uncle was the god of the underworld and not quite the most chipper man. They had been so, SO close. And then Athens came. One city that couldn't pick her or Poseidon to be its patron and had set them against each other in a competition of gifts. Whichever could give the greatest, most useful gift would be the victor and become the patron. Her uncle had created a horse, able to plow fields and tote supplies and offer distance to travel and food to eat. She had given an olive tree, able to give bark to burn and leaves for bedding and olives for food or oil, to give shade and a means to build with. The city had named her the patron and her uncle had been outraged. He was the elder, he was the more powerful, he was one of the original Olympians and he felt so…furious that the people would pick her instead of him, he took it as an insult. Moreover, he took it as a slight against him from HER.

Things had never been the same after that. He had treated her like an enemy, he had been short with her and distant and turned his back on her. No matter how many times she tried to talk to him, it never helped. He'd hated her, had actually tried to drown her on more than one occasion. And it only got worse their time on earth, seeing the city prosper and grow and worship HER. It wasn't till they had cut themselves out of the Earth and kept distance from the mortals that he had begun to ease up on her, though it still bothered him that Athens was STILL prospering even now, even ages later. But it was better. They talked again but they still lacked the closeness they had once had.

She knew what it was like to try to talk to someone who saw you as the enemy, who looked at you as though YOU had betrayed them, who thought of you with anger and hatred.

She wouldn't wish that on anyone.

"I am," Thor answered her after a moment, placing a hand on hers, offering her a small smile for her concern. She never told him not to do something she knew was truly and deeply important to him, like this was, in these cases she asked him and never judged whether he'd accept or not, "While I am certain your silver-tongue is more than a match for his," his gaze flickered to Loki and back to her, "Loki was my brother. I must be the one to speak to him."

Athena nodded, squeezing his arm once more before releasing it, following him into the dungeons. Even if he wished to be the one to speak, she would still be there for support.

The two of them slowly approached the cell, Loki hardly blinking, not even looking up though he knew they were there, "Thor," he turned a page, a smirk on his face, "Thena," he didn't even need to look over to see that Athena's jaw was clenching at that, Apollo hadn't been lying, only her family was allowed to call her that, "After all this time, and now you come to visit me," NOW he looked up, his gaze turning to Thor, "Why? Have you come to gloat? To mock?"

Thor remained strong, focused, not letting on how deeply this was bothering him, that Loki would think he'd come to gloat on the situation surrounding a man he'd once looked to as a brother, "Loki enough," he said firmly, "I am not in a gaming mood, the situation is too dire."

"Dire, really?" Loki scoffed, snapping his book shut and placing it on the small table beside him as he turned to face him entirely, "And I should care why?"

"Our mother nearly died," Thor said, both of them noticing the barest flicker of surprise and fear in Loki's eyes at that. No matter what, no matter what he said to Frigga about whether she was his mother or not, for how angry he was at Odin…Frigga would always be his mother, "Had it not been for Athena, she would have."

"I see not why you're bothering to tell me this," Loki stood slowly, moving his hands behind him.

"Because the ones who attacked us, the Dark Elves," Athena began, "They WILL come back if we do not act swiftly and they will come for Jane."

"The mortal," Loki mused, "Why would she be so valuable to them?"

"She is in possession of something they want," Thor told him, "And they will stop at nothing to get it."

"Then let them come," Loki held out his hands, "Let them take her and be done with it."

"Frigga refuses to leave her side," Athena told him, "Even against Odin's orders she will not leave her. You tell us Loki, do you think her luck shall hold out if she were to face the Dark Elves a second time?"

Loki's expression hardened ever so slightly at that information. Athena's eyes narrowed at how his gaze flickered to the staircase to the left of the room, the one that led up into the palace, the one that they had gotten reports the first escapee and a few other prisoners had escaped into. There were at least five other staircases that led down there, but only one that led to the heart of the palace…

She bit her tongue though, not about to bring up to Thor that Loki might have very well given away which staircase to take. He had been the only one left in his cell what seemed like on purpose. Perhaps he had attempted to prove his loyalty as an enemy of Asgard by giving that information, hoping he'd be released. Perhaps he'd just wanted the chaos to reach the palace, to still cause mischief while there. Perhaps he was trying to establish a kinship with the other prisoners and wanted to see one escape to spite them. Perhaps he wanted one to escape to show Odin his prisons were not all that infallible. She couldn't be certain but that flicker…and the guilt that seemed to enter his eyes afterwards…it was enough for her to know that he had told the escapee which stair to take.

And he was only just realizing that, in doing so, he had unknowingly endangered his mother, the escapee had been the one that had attacked her and Frigga with Malekith and Loki was seeing now that his mother had nearly died because of his little tidbit of information.

"And what?" Loki looked back at them, "You wish for me to guard her? I doubt Odin would allow that."

"No," Thor agreed, "I offer you the chance of a far richer position."

Loki's eyes narrowed a moment, "Go on."

Thor almost seemed surprised that Loki was listening, almost…but he too knew that, as Odin had favored him growing up, Frigga had favored Loki because of it. Loki would not dare endanger their mother, if something were to come up that would mean ensuring her safety, he would be more likely to agree to it and, potentially, not betray them.

"You help us escape Asgard with Jane," Thor began, "You will ensure mother's safety in doing so. And, afterwards, you return to this cell instead of execution. You know mother is the only reason father allowed you to live. If she dies, so do you."

Loki chuckled at that, shaking his head, "You must be truly desperate to come to me for help," he slowly stood, eyeing Thor, "What makes you think you can trust me?"

"I don't," Thor countered.

"Nor do I," Athena agreed.

"But mother does, and it is in her name, in an attempt to keep her safe that I ask this of you," Thor continued, growing grave, "You should know that when we fought each other in the past, I did so with the glimmer of hope that my brother was still in there somewhere. Mother may yet hold firm to this belief, but that hope no longer exists in me to protect you. You betray me and I will kill you."

"Not if I kill him first," Athena muttered.

That seemed to draw a smile out of Loki, "When do we start?"

~8~

Loki was led down the hall with Athena and Thor on either side of him, Thor having managed to release Loki from prison. Being the prince and future king did have its advantages it appeared, he had access to the prison cells and, being the one to plan out the guard rotation and help improve on the protocols for an attack such as this, Athena knew which halls would have no guards in them on the way. They both kept Loki just slightly ahead of them, neither willing to allow him to walk exactly side by side with them, neither willing to allow him to trail behind them where they couldn't see him. They doubted he would try anything, not with the two of them there and armed while he had nothing in his hands. But Loki was dangerous even without his weapons, his mind being his most valuable weapon, and they were not about to take chances.

"This is so unlike you, brother," Loki spoke, grinning as he saw Thor's fist clench, knowing that it was irritating and getting to him to call the man his brother when he knew Thor no longer considered him it. It was a torture of sorts to remind him of the familial relation they'd once had that had been oh so dear to Thor, "So clandestine. Are you sure you wouldn't rather just punch your way out? Or has your little strumpet tempered you so?" he glanced at Athena, "Tell me what are your favored methods with brother dear?"

"Keep it up Loki and I will punch my way through your face," Athena muttered.

Loki rolled his eyes, "Fine. As you wish. I'm not even here," he shifted before their eyes, turning into one of the guards, "Is this better?"

"It's better company at least," Thor spoke, striding along.

"Still, we could be less conspicuous," Loki mused before turning back into himself and making Thor appear as Athena and Athena as Thor, "Mmm brother, you look ravishing."

"One more word Loki…" Athena threatened, more for his words about her than for changing their forms.

Thor however, glanced down at himself appearing as Athena, "It will hurt no less when I kill you in this form. I rather think Athena could think of more creative ways to do so."

"Very well," Loki let out a mock-long suffering sigh and changed Thor and Athena back, "Perhaps you prefer one of your new companions, given that you seem to like them so much," he grinned and morphed into Steve Rodgers, Captain America, "Oh, this is much better," he spoke, his voice taking on Steve's as well, "Woah! Costume's a bit much, it's so tight! But the confidence!" he straightened, "I can feel the righteousness surging! Hey, wanna have a rousing discussion about truth, honor, patriotism? God bless America…"

Athena reached out and grabbed Loki, slamming him against a pillar with her sword at his throat, "Shut up," was all she told him as Thor grinned behind her, moving to join them.

"What?" Loki reached up to pull her hand away, "Have I irritated you?"

Athena gave him a scathing look and nodded to the side where two soldiers were walking past.

"You can at least furnish me with a weapon brother," he turned his attention to Thor, "My dagger, something!" Thor stepped closer and slid something metal into his hands, making Loki grin to hear though he couldn't quite look down with Athena's one arm across his neck and the sword at his chin, "At last, a little common sense."

"Oh how you lack that," Athena smirked, stepping back as Loki looked down, seeing that Thor had snapped a pair of manacles onto his wrists.

"I thought you liked tricks," Thor laughed, reaching out to grab Loki's arm and force him onwards. He glanced at Athena a moment, "Lost your patience?" he smirked at her, it wasn't often that that happened.

"Merely…following through with my threat," she muttered, "And he was about to get us caught."

Thor merely gave a small chuckle and shook his head, knowing that she really had just been irritated with Loki and wanted to spook him a little. It would be good for Loki to remember that they truly would not hesitate to run him through if he betrayed them or turned on them. If he threatened this mission in even the smallest sense, they would ensure that he was dealt with, even if it meant not getting caught by the guards around them.

They reached a wide hall, pausing a moment, grabbing Loki so he would stop walking as well and waited for Sif to arrive with Jane. She had gone to retrieve the woman from where she was being held and to request of Frigga to help them in distracting and delaying Odin after they escaped. They hoped that, the first thing that Odin would do after Heimdall gave the sign to begin, would be to fear for Frigga, fear that they had done something to his wife and go to check on her. He would find her sitting comfortably in the room waiting for him, they would not ever dare harm the woman, but they knew that Odin had grown so paranoid and expecting of betrayal that it would only be a matter of time before he feared that his other son would turn on him and harm his wife as well.

For once, Odin's paranoia would benefit them.

They looked over, hearing footsteps approach to see Sif and Jane hurrying down the steps, without Frigga which meant that the Queen had agreed to their plan.

Jane's eyes widened when she saw Loki standing there, recognizing him from the news papers and from SHIELD when she'd returned, "You're…"

"I'm Loki," Loki grinned at her even as Jane stormed towards him, "You may have heard of me."

To prove just how much she HAD heard of him…Jane smacked him across the face, "That was for New York," she glared at him.

Loki blinked for a moment before laughing, glancing at Thor, "I like her," he told the man, his gaze flickering to Athena, "Reminds me of you Thena."

"Call me that again Loki and I cut that tongue of yours out of your mouth," Athena threatened.

Before Loki could even speak, the sound of a blast went off and a flash of light sparked in the distance. They looked outside to see that the Bifrost had been activated, Heimdall had begun their plan. He was going to use the Bifrost to make Odin think that he had opened it and allowed them to take Jane to one of the other Realms. It would take the king time to get to the Bifrost controls and confront Heimdall, and then he would hopefully go to the tower where he'd locked away Jane to check on Frigga.

But not it meant that they had to go, they had to get to Volstagg and Fandral and the ships that they were trying to commandeer for them to escape in, including one of the Dark Elf crafts that they'd managed to keep down.

"There they are!" they heard a guard shout and turned to see a handful of guards starting to rush towards them down the hall, "Take them!"

"On my command," a second guard agreed.

Sif held up a hand and her weapon as Athena stepped forward to help her stop the soldiers, "I'll hold them off," she told them, glancing back at Jane, "Take her."

"Thank you," Thor nodded at her, turning to usher Jane away, leaving Athena to handle Loki.

Sif quickly held out her sword a moment, right at Loki's neck when he turned to try and follow, "Betray him, and I'll kill you," Sif threatened.

Loki grinned at her, "It's good to see you too, Sif."

Sif narrowed her eyes and pulled her sword back, looking to Athena and nodding her head as Athena held up her fist, bumping it against Sif's in sign of good luck before she grabbed Loki's elbow and began to lead him away.

"Couldn't wait to get your hands on me could you?" Loki smirked at her as they walked, hearing the sound of battle behind them as Sif took care of the guards.

"Wrong part of your body Loki," she grumbled.

Loki's smirk just widened, "Another part of my anatomy then? Perhaps lower?"

She would have grimaced at how crude that was had she not heard worse tales of her own family and the 'passions' they inspired between humans and animals, that Minotaur gave her nightmares. But it served to make her unwavering when it came to remarks like that and disgusting innuendo, "You let me near that Loki and you will never be a father," she told him, her free hand moving to the hilt of her sword.

His smirk started to fade, "I was actually thinking something more pleasurable."

"Me strangling the life out of your neck with my bare hands won't be pleasurable for you either," she shot right back, "So if you'd like to live to see your mother safe, you had best shut your gob."

Loki rolled his eyes but kept quiet for which she was thankful, she didn't want to have to deal with him and, had it not been for the fact that she knew that Thor had taken Jane and left Loki to her because he hadn't wanted to have to lead his former-brother in chains anywhere she would have pawned him off on Thor instead. For all his strength in facing Loki down, in talking him into this, in standing against him…she knew it truly did harm Thor greatly to have to look at the man he'd once seen as brother and know there was no sense of his brother left. Loki was nothing more than a monster to all of them, save Frigga, but it was always hard to completely erase the memories of what once had been.

Family was always complicated. She had always been certain that no one's was more so than hers, especially after learning that her father had eaten his first wife much like her grandfather had eaten all her uncles and aunts before her father had been saved…it was just odd. But she supposed it was like that in every god-like family. There was always betrayal and hurt and really rather dysfunctional occurrences. As much as she hated it when it was happening…she couldn't regret the events in the past or her family's history. If anything, it was allowing her to relate to Thor in a way she likely wouldn't have been able to before. Their mothers were gone, they were the first and only born of their mothers and fathers, they had step mothers and siblings, they fought and they protected. She liked to think that they made each other better, she made Thor think more and he made her more capable of operating on instinct and trusting her gut.

And she understood him in ways the others couldn't, especially when it came to Loki, when it came to the small details of how he reacted or what he said to the man. The Warriors Three and Sif would have no trouble looking at Loki as a traitor and forgetting that they too had grown up with him, that they had known him, they would see only the hurt he caused Thor and his family and never again see him as Loki of Asgard but Loki of Jotunheim. She too saw that, but she also understood how it felt to be betrayed by family. She understood that you couldn't just look at the person who let you down and not think about the moments you had with them in the past, where it always felt like they'd have your back and that they'd be there to protect you and stand with you. She knew that Thor still struggled with reconciling the fact that his brother was gone and was nothing but a monster with looking at him and seeing the man who had always been his brother.

She tried to do what she could, subtly, without drawing attention to it, to help him cope. If he led Jane off, she would take Loki. She would say nothing about it, she wouldn't draw attention to the fact that Thor had done so because he didn't want to have to lead the man off in chains. She would go with it as though it had been their plan, so no one would be the wiser about it. If he was too quiet when she knew there was more to say to Loki, she would say it, because it was likely something that Thor didn't want to have to say or couldn't bring himself to say. If he walked too stiffly beside Loki, if he curled his hands into fist at the reminder that the man used to be his brother, she would do what she could to reassure him that he wasn't alone in this, that she was there for him and that they'd get through this difficult ordeal together.

She looked up when she and Loki caught up to Thor and Jane, just outside a Dark Elf craft where Volstagg had managed to get access to it. She could see Thor speaking with the man, Volstagg urging him and Jane towards the craft, his gaze flickering to them as they hurried over, clearly he knew the guards were after them. She grabbed Loki's elbow tightly and shoved him on, not about to let him try something where they'd end up just barely escaping because he was dallying. That was something Loki and Thor had both shared when they were younger, they were rather…attention seeking and fans of cutting things close. Thor had delayed his coronation to enter to the applause, Loki would wait till the last moment to pull one of his tricks and she was not in the mood to deal with that today.

She was jerked back though when Volstagg grabbed Loki's other arm, glaring at him, "If you even think about betraying..."

"You're kill me?" Loki cut in, rolling his eyes at that, "Evidently there's a line."

"I'm first in it," Athena added, shoving him on as Volstagg took a defensive position behind them, ready to face down what guards snuck past Sif.

"Ooh," Loki mock-grimaced, "I believe that would be Thor."

"As though I would let him be haunted by killing his own brother," Athena muttered, glancing at Loki to see him staring at her with a frown on his face.

"So you would kill me…so he wouldn't have to?"

"I do believe that is what I said," Athena countered, Loki just continued to frown and eye her, till she shoved him into the craft…only to see Jane standing off to the side as Thor pushed random buttons trying to get the craft to activate and fly, "I take it you can't fly this then?" Athena sighed, recalling how Thor had insisted they'd be able to use one of the crafts to escape.

"I said 'how hard could it be,'" he countered under his breath.

"Whatever you are doing, brother," Loki remarked, nodding towards a small monitor, one of the few things that was working properly, showing them the image of the guards swarming on Volstagg, "I suggest to do it faster."

"Shut up Loki," Thor moved to other buttons as Athena stepped beside him, examining the controls with her eyes.

"You must have missed something."

"I've pressed all the buttons on this thing."

"Do not hit it," Loki rolled his eyes, "Just press it gently."

"I _am _pressing it gently!" Thor shouted, "It's not working!"

"I think you missing something."

"Loki!" Athena spun around, "Mind your tongue if you wish not to lose it!"

But just as she turned to resume trying to help Thor, Jane swooned and fell to the ground, much to Loki's amusement, "Oh dear," he sighed dryly, "Is she dead ?"

Athena shook her head and put a hand on Thor's arm as she moved past him, signaling for him to continue working while she checked on Jane, kneeling beside the woman to try and rouse her, "Jane?"

"I'm fine," Jane groaned, slowly waking and pushing herself to sit up.

Thor let out a cheer as the craft started to rise, Athena helping Jane to stand but lean against the wall as Thor sent the craft off, blasting out of the room…wobbly…but flying out into the air of Asgard.

"Thor," Athena gave him a meaningful look, "The guards are following us."

He nodded, turning to the controls again, their plan working so far, but he just had to get them a little farther.

"Now they're firing us," Loki grunted as the craft shook, the guards using Asgardian crafts to launch their own attack to stop them, "It's brilliant Thor," he rolled his eyes, "Really brilliant…"

Athena rolled her own eyes and turned, her sword hilt in her hand and slammed her fist against Loki, sending him falling to the ground, unconscious. She let out a breath, blowing a strand of hair from where it had fallen in front of her face at the move and looked back to where Jane and Thor were staring at him, "Was he always this chatty?" she huffed, making Thor chuckle.

"You take him?" Thor asked her.

She nodded, crouching down and begrudgingly hefting Loki up, over her shoulder as she pulled the bottom panel of the craft up as well. She looked back at Thor, nodding once, before she jumped out of it, falling through the air…and landing right in a smaller Asgardian craft that was racing along the path of the Dark Elf ship, Fandral at the helm of it.

"Fandral," she greeted, half tossing Loki to the side in an unceremonious heap as the man grinned at the sight.

The craft thumped a moment later as Thor, with Jane over his shoulder, landed behind her. He gave Fandral a nod as he set Jane to the side, the girl sliding down the wall of the craft to sit on the floor, the wind knocked out of her. Fandral turned the craft heading in the opposite direction, all of them looking up and watching as the Asgardian crafts continued to fly after the Dark Elf ship, leaving them free to escape.

"Blast," Fandral muttered, spotting one other Asgardian ship below them had spotted them and was rushing after them.

"Fandral," Thor gave him a look.

Fandral sighed, "Alright," he rolled his eyes, pulling out a sword and moving to the edge of the craft, "For Asgard!" he cheered, hopping off and landing on the craft below them, starting to take out those guards so they could escape.

"Athena," Thor turned to her.

She gave him a firm nod and turned to Loki, grabbing him by the front of his clothes with one hand and slapping him hard with the other, startling him awake, "Your turn Loki. Let's see how clever you truly are."

Loki glared at her, not pleased with both her having knocked him out and slapped him and insulted his intelligence. But he pushed himself to his feet and moved to the helm, twisting it and sending them towards some of the lower mountains.

"Loki?" Thor tensed, not wanting to crash into them.

Loki rolled his eyes, "If it was easy everyone would do it."

Athena glanced at Thor and put a hand on his arm, the two of them watching in apprehension as Loki aimed them for the rocks, headed right for them, speed increasing more and more.

"Are you mad!?" Thor shouted at him.

Loki just grinned and increased the speed even more, "Possibly," he laughed.

Thor turned to look, watching as the mountains loomed, nearly flinching as they almost crashed right into it…only to fly right into a small crack in the rocks, the sides of the craft scraping along the rocks, the walls seeming to close in, worsening the scraping…

Until they flew out the other side, out of Asgard.

"Ta da," Loki smirked as they entered the land beyond.

Their plan had worked.

A/N: Just want to apologize for no chapter yesterday :( My brother and his girlfriend had a fight and she refused to go to his 'race' this weekend so at like 5am I got woken up and told that, because she wasn't going, I had to go :( Worse yet, since I had no time to prepare, I was running around trying to get packed and left my phone home :( I couldn't even put a note on tumblr about it to warn you :( We just got back now so I'm posting the chapters :)

As for this chapter...there was a small typo in Humility (sorry!) I had Athena say her 'brother' tried to drown her, I meant to put uncle but, at that point, was thinking about the first chapter of War where she was talking to her brother lol :) I fixed it, but I just wanted to clear it up here :)

Some notes on reviews...

Lol, loved the spooky story :) But I live for horror movies, I dare the monsters to come after me and the 50+ voices in my head ;)

I've considered a Batman/OC, but I couldn't really get into the movies :( There's always a chance that I'll watch them again and be hit with an OC though :)

It might just be marriage, but we'll have to wait and see. I can say the last chapter will reveal it ;)


	9. Friend of Foe?

Friend of Foe?

Athena knelt by Jane as the woman slept on the edge of the craft, drifting along and making their way closer in the direction that they hoped the Dark Elves would follow them to. They just needed to get far enough away where they'd sense the Aether in Jane and come to them. She gently tugged a small blanket over the mortal, frowning as she reached out and put the back of her hand to Jane's forehead, feeling the heat there, hearing the soft pants that her breath was coming in. She looked back at Thor and gave him a solemn look and a shake of her head. They both knew it would be cutting it entirely too close, getting Jane out of there before the Aether destroyed her, it appeared their time was running out.

"Say goodbye to your ally," Loki mused as he sat on the other side as Thor stood by the back of the transport controls.

"Not till she draws her last breath," Athena shook her head, "Not now."

"Now, tomorrow, the next day," Loki rolled his eyes, "A hundred years is nothing. It's a heartbeat. You'll never be ready."

"We won't have to be," Athena stood straighter, "This is a good plan," she murmured, thinking of the plan they had come up with while Jane first slept, "We WILL succeed."

"Daughter of Zeus," Loki rolled his eyes, making Athena frown, "And the Son of Odin. Quite the hopeful pair."

"No," Thor shook his head, "Not just Odin," he gave Loki a hard look, "You had her tricks, but I had her trust."

"Trust?" Loki scoffed, "Was that the expression she wore when she was attacked by Dark Elves?" he glared at them, "Elves that only came to Asgard because you both brought that girl to the palace? Elves that nearly killed her?"

"Don't you dare try to play innocent in this Loki," Athena rolled her eyes in disdain, "Who was it that told the Elf that escaped which staircase to take? Who was it that led them into the palace in the first place? That gave the Elf access to the halls that led to Frigga?"

"You nearly let her die!" Loki snapped, his gaze more on Thor, blaming him for not being there to protect their mother.

"Athena nearly _did_ die to save our mother!" Thor raged, striding towards Loki, Athena hurrying back to the controls to keep the craft stable, "What help were you in your cell?!"

"Who put me there?!" Loki shouted right back, "Who put me there?!"

"YOU did," Athena reminded him, "With your actions and your greed, YOU are the only one to blame for being there," silence fell a moment, "At least be glad that you are still alive now to protect your mother instead of dead without a hope of helping her like Odin wanted."

Thor let out a long breath, "Mother wouldn't want us to fight."

"Well she wouldn't exactly be shocked," Loki shrugged, glancing over when Thor returned to the controls, taking them from Athena, his hand resting on hers a moment, squeezing it before she released them, "It isn't as though I have someone to keep me sane."

"You don't need anyone to keep you sane Loki," Athena muttered, "You aren't mad. You're just…" she shook her head, shrugging, not having a word to define exactly what he had become, "Everything you once hated," she settled for.

He'd hated bullies, Jotuns, arrogance, cruelty, war, bloodshed…monsters.

And now he was one.

Thor shook his head as he looked at the man he once called a brother, "I wish I could trust you."

Loki glanced at him, and looked away at the disappointment, hopelessness, and knowledge in Thor's eyes, knowing there was nothing he could say that would inspire any level of trust.

~8~

Svartalfheim was where they ended up, able to see the Dark Elves gathering in the distance, down from a small cliff that they stood atop of, overlooking the gathering. Thor let out a long breath as he eyed the number of elves, the size of them, their crafts and glanced at Athena, seeing her eyes roving over them as well, her gray eyes flickering here and there as she worked out if their plan would actually work or if it would need to be tweaked slightly. They had come up with it just after Jane had fallen asleep, knowing that, as terrible as it was to say, they would need at least one of them to have a genuine reaction to what was happening to make it seem real to Malekith.

It had been his plan, originally, his thought on how to deal with the Aether and the Elves, and he was very pleased that Athena thought it was a good one. He tried to lean from her as much as she learned from him, the two of them helping each other grow. As she tried to go more on instinct at times, to not try and guess what the next attack would be and to just fight and block it, he too was learning to think things through before he made a move. He knew that one wrong move here could mean danger for Asgard and he was not about to risk his people for a needless war that could be avoided if all went well here. He felt himself smile as his cheek tingled in the memory of the kiss Athena had bestowed upon it when he'd said that to her as well.

She was so…proud of him, of how he was acting now. It was so different from when he'd marched into Jotunheim not quite with the intent of creating a war but with the intent to beat answers out of another, with the full knowledge that doing so would break his father's treaty and could cause a war. He'd been so arrogant then, he'd thought he could march in there, get answers, and kill enough Jotuns that they wouldn't be able to attack. He'd been wrong then. He'd not considered the lives and safety of his people as his father had pointed out. He truly had thought as nothing more than a warrior instead of as a king, but now…now he understood. With every day that Odin's mind began to leave him, every moment his strength started to fail, HE felt himself growing closer and closer to kingship. He felt himself changing and realizing how much he had to watch out for his people. Athena had been so utterly proud of him when he'd said the entire purpose of this plan was to protect his people, he saw it in her eyes, just how touched and pleased she was.

He knew that his parents, no matter what, would always be proud of him in some way. Their pride and their faith in him…at times…he felt was ill placed and misplaced. His mother had already proven that she would defend Loki, that she believed in him and trusted him and had faith in him when he was nothing but a monster that betrayed them all. He couldn't trust her judgment. His father, he could get angry at times, yes, but he had always been the favored son. His father was truly going to bestow the kingship on him during his coronation, despite knowing he wasn't ready or mature enough to handle it. He couldn't quite fully believe his parents when they felt pride or trust in him because of that, he was their son, they would always feel that no matter what he did…But Athena? She had no obligation to him, she had no qualms with telling him when she was disappointed or when he was being arrogant or cruel or less-than-kingly. And when she was proud of him? It was because he had earned it and that sort of pride felt better than anything else.

But now was not the time to be focused on that, he would make her even prouder in settling this.

"Right, are you ready?" he looked at them.

"I am," Loki remarked as Jane nodded, casting a hesitant glance at Loki.

Athena frowned as she eyed the Dark Elves before she too gave a small nod, "It should work," she glanced at him.

"You know this plan of yours is going to get us killed?" Loki countered dryly to Thor, knowing it had been his plan to do this, Athena probably would have had a bit more…finesse had she come up with this.

"It has crossed me," Thor agreed.

Loki turned and held up his still-manacled wrists to Thor as Athena and Jane walked over to them, "You STILL don't trust me brother?" Loki frowned as Thor hesitated.

Athena scoffed, "After all you've done?" she shook her head, "Would YOU trust you?"

Loki watched as Thor stepped up and unlocked the manacles, "No," he answered, a grin flashing across his face, "I wouldn't!" before he pulled a dagger from his sleeve and stabbed Thor in the gut with it, kicking him and sending him flying down the small cliff, right for the Dark Elves.

Athena gave Loki only one more glance, before she leapt after Thor as Jane cried out in alarm. To Jane, they knew, it would appear that Athena had gone to defend him as now the Dark Elves were aware of them and heading right for him. Thor being injured meant that someone would have to be by his side to help him. Jane would hardly blame her for rushing to Thor's aid, especially when Jane herself tried to rush after him as well, Loki stalking after them both.

"Did you really think I care about Frigga?" Loki scoffed at Thor as the man struggled to get up, "About anybody?" he smirked, "All I ever wanted was you and Odin and all your little friends, dead at my feet!"

Athena spun around, her sword out, ready to attack Loki, but he grabbed her wrist with his free hand and slammed the dagger down with his other, cutting her hand off as she fell to the ground, clutching the bleeding stump as Thor surged towards her to help.

Loki didn't even pause to look at them as he grabbed Jane as he passed her, yanking her with him as he stepped closer to the Dark Elves, to Malekith, facing them down, "Malekith!" he shouted out, "I am Loki of Jotunheim, and I bring you a gift!" he threw Jane forwards, shoving her towards the Elves, sending her falling to her knees at Malekith's feet, "I ask only one thing return," he grinned, "A good seat from which to watch Asgard burn."

One of the brutes, the monstrous creatures that Thor and Athena recognized from when Frigga had been attacked and Athena wounded, stepped up beside Malekith, speaking in their native language to the leader of the Elves. From the way he was gesturing at Loki and Malekith was eyeing him, they could tell that they were likely speaking of the prison outbreak, of Loki's lack of involvement or potential involvement.

Whatever it was, Malekith smirked at Loki and stepped past the man, not even attempting to harm him, seeming to accept his request for a truce as he glared down at Thor and Athena, huddled on the ground…which should have been a clear indication that something was amiss, as though the two fierce warriors would be huddling on the ground from such wounds…and grinned.

"Look at me," Malekith demanded in the common tongue, his voice guttural and harsh.

Thor winced, his hand pressed to his stomach as Athena hunched over, her body curled over her arm, as they looked up at Malekith.

He let out a dark laugh and turned to Jane, lifting his hand and levitating Jane into the air, all of them watching as he forcibly pulled the red smoke, the Aether, out of Jane. They could tell it was painful, Jane was twitching and seizing in the hair, her eyes wide and full of tears as the red matter was extracted from her body…but it had to be done. Malekith was the only one that could pull the Aether from her, it was a Dark Elf creation.

He growled, letting Jane fall to the ground, weak, as the Aether hung in the air between them.

"NOW!" Athena shouted and they all leapt into action.

Loki threw himself at Jane, shielding her as Athena leapt up, her sword and hand back in place, the illusion being revealed as she stabbed Malekith in the back, distracting him long enough for Thor to do his own part. Thor rolled onto his feet, the wound in his gut gone, never having been there in the first place, and summoned Mjolnir to his hand. He lifted the hammer in the air, drawing lightning to it and sending it blasting at the Aether, trying his best to destroy it.

But nothing happened, it was as though the Aether was indestructible, blasting Thor back from the backlash of the power.

Malekith turned, slamming his arm into Athena and sending her flying back, rolling along the sand of the desert field, as he turned back to the Aether and drew it into himself instead. Malekith turned and grinned dangerously at them, before he turned and strode back towards the ship with his Elves, the three warriors trying to stop him.

One of the brutes turned to defend its leader, throwing some sort of grenade like device at them, creating a powerful vortex in the sky, like a black hole that threatened to suck them in. Loki half-threw Jane to the side, towards Athena, who slammed her sword into the ground and grabbed Jane's wrist to keep them from being sucked into the swirling vortex. Athena looked up, hearing someone shouting out and saw Loki being sucked towards the black hole. But before the man could get pulled in entirely, Thor shot across the sky, aided by Mjolnir, and grabbed Loki from the middle of the pull, the two of them landing on the ground a short distance away, Thor using Mjolnir to keep them both on the ground till the vortex disappeared.

Athena caught Thor's gaze for a moment, seeing the look on his face and understood. As much as it was a natural reaction for him, seeing the man who had once been his brother in danger and wanting to save him…it was also a very well thought out move. The last time Loki had fallen into an abyss, he had ended up with an army and attacking Earth. Who knew where he'd end up or how much more powerful he would get if he disappeared through a black hole. They couldn't risk him disappearing on them, being lost in space and given time to gather his strength and army once more. No. The plan had always been to return him to his cell when this was over, they couldn't do that if he was pulled into a vortex and sent to another end of the universe again.

They nodded at each other and got up, Athena muttering a quick word to Jane to stay down, as they began to fight the Dark Elves and the brutes around them, all the members of Malekith's army that were trying to defend their leader and give him a chance to escape with the Aether. They fought hard, Thor with his hammer, Athena with her sword, Loki with his small dagger.

"Thor!" Athena shouted, smashing one of the Dark Elves with her shield and stabbing it with her sword as she saw Thor being smashed into the ground by one of the brutes, about to be finished by a powerful blow…

When Loki stabbed it through with a huge blade he'd stolen off another soldier from behind.

The brute turned, roaring in rage, and stabbed Loki through the gut, impaling him with his the same blade that had struck him.

"NO!" Thor screamed as the brute threw Loki away, sending him falling to the ground and walked towards him.

Loki just smiled up at the brute even as it stood over him, "See you in Hel, monster."

The brute looked down to see that one of the grenades that had been attached to its hip h ad been activated, leaving the brute to explode a moment later.

Thor ran to Loki's side, Athena dealing with the last few Dark Elves that tried to sneak up on the distraught man, Jane hiding behind a large rock and watching as Athena finished them off, leaving Thor safe to tend to his former-brother.

"No, no, no…" Thor searched Loki for his wound, trying to examine it, "You fool, you didn't listen!"

"I know," Loki breathed, "I'm a fool…I'm a fool."

"Stay with me," Thor nearly begged, "Stay with me!"

"I'm sorry," Loki looked up at him, Athena coming into his line of sight, standing behind Thor solemnly as the last of the elves were struck down, Malekith and the Aether long gone, "I'm sorry. I'm sorry."

"It's alright," Thor swallowed hard, "I'll tell Father what you did here today."

Loki shook his head, looking at Thor intently, "I didn't do it for him," he whispered, letting out a final breath as his skin turned Frost Giant blue, his eyes darkening to a red as he passed in Thor's arms.

Athena closed her eyes as Thor let out a scream of rage and sorrow as the man who had once been his brother died. She knew, no matter what Loki had done, Thor wouldn't ever want to see him dead. In this moment…Thor wasn't seeing Loki as the Jotun who had betrayed them all.

Right now…he was seeing his little brother dying before his eyes.

~8~

Athena made her way over to Thor as he stood in the entrance to a large cave that they had made their way towards for shelter. He was staring out at the landscape, at where he'd had to leave Loki's body behind as a storm had come up behind them. She reached out and placed her hand on his arm, not saying a thing, because there was nothing that could be said that would comfort him.

Her family was…largely alive. Some of her half-brothers and half sisters had died, yes, some had been killed, some had become gods as well. But the difference was she wasn't around them as much as she had been her full-blood-god siblings. She hadn't been raised alongside them the way Thor had been Loki, and the siblings she was around were all as immortal as she was and were still living. Thor had proven with his first attack on Jotunheim that the Frost Giants could be killed, he had killed his fair share of them, but it was different with Loki. In those last moments…Loki had saved Thor's life, had shown the smallest hint of the brother Thor once knew inside him. And to have that back and then to have it taken?

There were no words.

So she stood at his side, looking out at the landscape for however long he needed. She knew, eventually, his mind and sense of duty would catch up to him and remind him that they had to find Malekith and stop the Aether, but she couldn't bring herself to remind him of that just yet. Grief was not meant to be rushed.

She looked down as Thor put his hand over hers, she could feel it shaking slightly and she knew that his mind was replaying all his regrets that came with Loki and what he had become. He had suffered a loss, no matter what he thought of Loki in the end, at one point in the past he had been Thor's brother. And to break the news to Frigga alone would be devastating. To see what Odin's reaction would be could be even worse. Would the man feel regret as well? Would he be relieved? Would he be pleased? Would he feel nothing? Odin's reaction, she was sure, would crush Thor as much as Frigga's would, so all she could do was to let him know he wouldn't have to face it alone.

She had made it her mission, since she had been sent to Earth with him all those years ago, that she wouldn't let him face anything alone. Thor was…the strongest man she knew, the strongest of heart and spirit and physical strength, but even the strongest of people could be weak at times and a loss like this. She knew there was no way Thor would be able to face his people, to think himself worthy to protect them when he couldn't, in his mind, even keep his baby brother safe. He would need a break, he would need rest, he would need time, and she already had an idea of how to give that to him, but right now there was more at stake and more they had to focus on.

Thor squeezed her hand once more before he turned to her, "We must stop Malekith," he stated, and she could see a secondary reason in his eyes, he didn't want Malekith to harm anyone else the way HE had been harmed.

"We must find where he is going," Athena agreed, "We must return to Asgard, gather our resources, and find him."

"No," Jane spoke, standing behind them, shifting slightly as she wasn't sure if she was interrupting something or if she should feel guilty, if they blamed her, for what happened to Loki. He was only there with them because SHE had the Aether inside her and they'd needed to get her out of Asgard, "I…I know what Malekith is planning," she took a breath, "He's gonna unleash it. Not just on Asgard or on a star. Malekith is gonna destroy everything."

"How?" Athena frowned.

"I've…I've been having visions because of the Aether," she began, "At first I thought they were just nightmares or something but…I saw him on Earth. Why would he go to Earth?"

Thor stiffened at that, "The Convergence."

"God," Jane breathed, "None of this would have happened if I hadn't found the Aether."

"It would have," Athena shook her head, glancing between Thor and Jane so they could see the truth in that, "Malekith would have gained possession of the Aether sooner than he had. He would have destroyed the Earth and come for Asgard. We would have been faced with an all out war instead of a targeted attack," she glanced at Jane, "You saved many lives Jane," she told her, "You delayed this and have given us an advantage of observing the Dark Elves, their crafts and weapons, we are better prepared now."

Jane opened her mouth to say something when an odd ringing noise started to play, sounding oddly like one of the 'cell phone' noises that Darcy had shown them when they'd been on Earth first.

"It's…not me," Thor remarked, not quite sure what the noise was.

Jane looked around and started to pat her pockets of her gown, pulling out her cellphone and seeming entirely shocked that it was actually ringing, "Hello?" she answered it, turning to walk away from them, speaking to the person on the other side of the line, "Richard?" she called, the last words they could clearly hear as she moved further into the cave, looking around as well.

"We will stop Malekith, Thor," Athena turned to him, seeing the grim look on his face, "We WILL."

"We could not destroy the Aether," Thor countered.

"And we have learned from that," she agreed, "We will be better prepared next time. And we will succeed."

Thor nodded solemnly and turned to look out into the raging storm once more, not sure if it was just the area or a manifestation of his turbulent grief at the loss of Loki that was causing it. The worst part about it all…he wasn't sure what Loki had died as. And that was what was upsetting him.

This entire situation with Loki should never have happened. He never should have been in a position where he was questioning his brother, his loyalty or his sanity. He never should have been in a position where they were on opposite ends of a battle, where he had to face his brother down and fight him, likely to the death. He never should have been in a position like this where his brother died…and he didn't even know if it was real.

Not real in the sense that Loki was just faking it to sneak away later, no, he firmly believed that the man had died. But he was questioning…what Loki was when he passed. Was the man his brother? Had it been just a plan on his part that he underestimated? Had he done it out of guilt? Out of duty? Out of redemption? Out of a last lingering feeling of brotherly love? Or had he done it because HE wanted to kill Thor himself? Had he gotten caught up in the battle and slipped into protecting him on accident? He didn't know if it had been his brother who had saved him, or the Jotun that only wanted to trick him and later had his plan go awry when the brute had attacked too quickly for him to retaliate. He didn't know if Loki had genuinely done it because the man didn't want his brother to die or if he had been hoping that, in doing so, he would garner trust from him and that Thor would plead his case to Odin when they returned.

Was it a ploy?

Or was it real?

THAT was the part that tore at him, it never should have been like this. They were meant to be brothers, to be raised together and love each other, to support each other. And then Loki had destroyed it all. He had destroyed all the faith Thor had in him and for that…he couldn't be certain what the true end had been.

"If you wish to avenge him," Athena spoke gently, "We can do both."

Thor looked at her, letting out a breath at how there was no judgment in her eyes. He knew that Frigga would look at him with disappointment, that he would doubt Loki had done it because he was his brother, had she knew his thoughts. His friends, Sif and the Warriors Three, perhaps even Odin, would have been outraged that he would think it was anything other than a ploy to gain trust and manipulate him. But Athena…she looked at him with understanding. To him, his brother who had betrayed him had died, neither as a hero or a villain, and that was all. She didn't judge his confliction nor did she try to influence how he should feel like he knew others would, telling him they were sorry for his loss or reassuring him that things were better now for it. She let him feel what he felt and that meant the world to him.

"Both," he murmured, "Loki was, at the end, an ally at the least. For whatever the reason behind it, he died saving my life and that should be avenged."

She nodded, "Then we have an Elf to find."

He smiled at her and turned when they heard Jane calling for them, rushing over with a ring of keys and a soda can in her hand.

"The anomaly!" she told them, "The anomaly that Darcy and I were investigating! It was connected to here!"

They looked down at the keys and the can, recalling how Darcy had mentioned that metal wasn't coming through the anomaly that they'd found.

"Where did you find this?" Athena turned to her.

"This way," Jane quickly led them back to where she'd found them…and disappeared before their eyes.

They glanced at each other before they stepped after her, to find themselves back on Earth, in the warehouse that they had been standing outside of when they'd first come back to Earth. They shared another look and grinned, they had beaten Malekith to Earth, now it was time to prepare.

~8~

"Jane!" Darcy exclaimed as Jane strode into the small flat she was renting, her, Ian, and even Erik within.

"Hey," Jane greeted, just walking in and to the nearest laptop, leaving Athena and Thor at the door, placing their weapons on a small coat rack that was beside it. They had been luck to find a car that she had managed to hotwire and drive there from the warehouse.

"You can't just leave like that," Darcy told her, "The whole world is going crazy. All the stuff we saw are spreading…"

Jane cut her off when she spotted someone behind Darcy, sitting at a table, "Erik?!"

"Jane!" the man grinned, getting up and moving to hug her, Athena looking away when she realized the man was not wearing pants, which made Thor crack a small smile at that action, "How wonderful," he hugged her warmly, pulling away to look at her attire, "You been to Asgard?"

"Where are your pants?" Jane asked instead.

"He said it helps him think," Ian, Darcy's intern, called from the side.

"She has been to Asgard, Erik," Athena spoke from the side, making the man smile and move to hug her as well, surprising her and making Thor laugh at the awkwardness of it.

"I'm gonna need everything you got on this," Jane called, trying to get Erik's attention back as he shook Thor's hand, "All the work you've been doing on gauge gravitational anomaly, everything."

"Ok," the man nodded, moving to get his papers together.

Athena frowned as she watched him, he was…not quite what she remembered him to be, "Are you well Erik?"

The man glanced at them, focusing more on Thor though, "Your brother's not coming is he?"

Thor swallowed hard, "Loki is dead."

"Oh thank God," Erik breathed, before seeing them frowning at him, "I'm…I'm sorry."

"Thank you."

"Have you an idea where this anomaly will appear?" Athena tried to steer them back to the topic at hand.

"Malekith is going to fire the Aether at a spot where all the Nine Worlds are connected," Jane tried to help.

"Amplifying the weapons thereby," Erik agreed, "For each additional world, the power will increase exponentially. The effect would be universal."

"Yes but the alignment is only temporary," Thor stressed, "We must be in exactly the right place at the right time."

"Well how do we know where that is?" Darcy frowned.

"We follow the directions," Erik grinned, grabbing a map from the side of his papers, "This has happened before thousands of years ago and the Ancients were there to see it. All the great constructions, the Maya, the Chinese, the Egyptians…they made use of the gravitational effects of the convergence. And they left us a map," he grinned, starting to point out areas on it, "Stonehenge, Snowden, these are all coordinates taking us..." he pulled a ruler over to them and followed the line of his markings, "Here!"

"Greenwich!" Ian breathed.

"The walls between worlds will be almost nonexistent," Jane realized, "Physics is going to go ballistic! Increases and decreases in gravity, spatial extrusions, the very fabric of reality is going to be torn apart."

Thor held out a hand and summoned Mjolnir to it, ready to go.

Erik shifted, "I'm gonna get my pants," he told them before heading off quickly to do just that.

Soon enough, the battle with the Dark Elves would occur…but this time, they would be ready.

A/N: Poor Loki :( I really wanted to look into Thor's mind there after Loki fell :( To show that, even though Loki was his brother, he can't being himself to truly trust him ever again and to question Loki's motives about why he did what he did :(

Some notes on reviews...

...I'm not quite sure who Gary is? :/ Or what he'd be helping with so I'm not quite sure how to answer... :/ Did you mean Richard? The man that Jane had a date with? Because she was on a date with him as mentioned in Chapter 3 ;)


	10. Forms of Victory

Forms of Victory

Athena was not quite certain that this plan of Jane's would actually work. But she had come to see that the humans were rather full of ingenuity and cleverness and Jane had proven herself multiple times. There was no reason to doubt her now and, even if the plan failed, she was sure that she and Thor would be able to handle this, to see it through and make sure that the Earth and all the other realms were safe.

She and Thor were on a high building overlooking the courtyard of a library in Greenwich, where Jane's scanners had been going crazy sensing something approaching it. They knew that that would be where Malekith would make his final attack. The point where the convergence would take place, right in the center. They could see the others from that point, all of them in pairs and having assigned tasks. Darcy and Ian were putting spikes into the ground at key points that Jane had given them, some sort of scanner that Jane had rigged to be a generator instead. She was hoping to create some sort of anomaly like the one in the warehouse, to give them portals to send some of the Dark Elves through and trap them elsewhere, away from the convergence. Jane and Erik were in the library, helping to get to a higher point to watch and control from.

And that meant that all there was to do was wait for Malekith to arrive.

It didn't take very long however before the water in the river across from the library began to shift and move, as though something invisible were landing in it and travelling across it. They glanced at each other, seeing that same invisible craft reach land and start to tear it apart as it moved, forcing the humans to run away. The craft flickered into view just as it reached the central point, right where the coordinates said that the convergence would occur, the Dark Elf craft now visible for all to see. It was like a giant spike sticking out of the ground, black but with red lighting.

They watched as a particular red light lit up from within the spike and began to travel down, the bottom opening as Malekith stepped out, his army of Elves behind him. They gave each other a firm nod as Thor took Athena in his one arm and used Mjolnir to have them soaring over the buildings and landing heavily before Malekith to stop him. They straightened, their weapons in hand, Athena with her sword and Thor with Mjolnir, ready for battle, ready to distract Malekith long enough for the convergence to pass.

Malekith merely grinned at them, the courtyard emptying of the humans as they fled, "You needn't have come so far Asgardian," he spoke to Thor, "Nor you Olympian," his gaze flickered to Athena who frowned at that, almost swearing she heard someone give a cheer and a shout of 'I knew it!' from a small ledge above them where Jane and Erik had gone to hide, "Death would have come to you soon enough."

"Not by your hand," Thor shook his head, giving Athena a held up hand in gesture to hold back as he strode towards Malekith.

"Your universe was never meant to be," Malekith stated, "Your world and your family will be extinguished!"

Before Thor could even blink, Malekith summoned the Aether to him, the red cloud swarming around him and blasting out at Thor, sending him flying back. He quickly turned it on Athena, but she held up her shield, her breastplate, her Aegis, firmly attached to it, using it to counter the attack, to hold it off till Thor could get back up on his feet which was not a long wait at all as, moments later, Malekith ended the attack to turn it on Thor. But Thor, taking an example from her, lifted Mjolnir and used it to block the attack, the force of it sending him sliding back, making tracks in the gravel beneath his feet.

Thor groaned as Malekith ceased the attack, straightening and wiping the blood from the corner of his mouth from the first attack, "You know," he grunted, his gaze flickering to Athena for a moment, giving her a small nod before he focused on Malekith again, "With all that power...I thought you would hit harder."

Athena winced as Malekith gathered the Aether to him, only to have Thor send Mjolnir slamming into the man in the middle of it, blasting the Dark Elf back, not just through his own men, but through a column of the library, and into the cars on the streets beyond.

"Go!" Athena shouted to Thor as she ran forward, blocking his back as he took off towards Malekith, leaving her to face the army of Dark Elves that remained.

He hadn't been fond of this idea, that she would be the one facing the army of Elves while he faced off with Malekith. But she had reminded him that Malekith would be far more dangerous with the Aether and if HE was going to face a man like that, then she could face his minions. She had a better idea of what to expect now, she'd been able to look at their crafts, she'd seen their weapons in action when Loki had been lost, she could handle this better now that she had a firmer idea of what the Elves were like. She could at least hold them off till the time came.

She could hear lightning being summoned behind her and knew that Thor was doing his best to hold off Malekith as well. She focused on the Elves before her, forcing her thoughts and concerns for Thor out of her mind, they both agreed that they HAD to focus on what was going on before them, they had to focus on the plan and the battle and distracting the Elves and they could not afford to worry about each other. So she did her best.

The Elves seemed to not know what to do with someone standing up to them though. They were hesitant in attacking, were shifting around her, slow to approach, but the few that did met their end quickly. She was sure that they were doing the same thing to her that she had to them, trying to observe her and understand what her fighting style was like, testing her limits and reactions, so she kept it varied, which seemed to keep them from attacking all out as well.

She tried to keep her focus on the Elves as well, but there were portals above her, rifts in the space of the sky, starting to form, revealing the Nine Realms through them. She could even see Asgard through one and that was not a good sign. It meant the convergence was happening, it was happening now and she wasn't sure if Jane and the others were in place and ready to put the plan in motion. She had lost sight of Darcy and Ian and she couldn't risk looking up to Jane and seeing if she could make out where she was.

She spun around, punching one of the Dark Elves that had tried to sneak up behind her out, and turned, about to throw the dagger from her hair at one of the others…when a small handful of them disappeared in a flash as they neared one of the spikes that Darcy and Ian had set up. She let out a breath of relief at that, realizing that it meant the spikes were working, that their plan was coming together. She fought two more, managing to slice her sword through both of them, when another round of Elves disappeared from around her. She saw a moment, a small break in the fighting, the other Elves being too far away and wanted to look up to thank Jane if just a small salute…when she saw something that she wasn't entirely sure she was actually seeing.

Thor was falling through the sky, Malekith with him, from an anomaly in the sky.

"Thor!" she shouted, even though she could see a faint shimmer of Mjolnir in his hand and knew he was safe.

In the blink of an eye though, Thor and Malekith disappeared again, falling through another anomaly.

"Wonderful," she muttered, turning and quickly punching one of the Elves as they drew closer.

The only good thing she could see in this was that at least Malekith was distracted enough as he and Thor went tumbling through the different anomalies and rifts, fighting across the Realms she would assume. So she focused instead on fighting the Elves, taking them out, taking out as many as she could in the hopes that she could make some sort of dent in them before the convergence happened.

But she found only minutes later…her efforts were in vain when she found herself blasted back across the courtyard and into the walls of the library, falling to the ground with a groan at the unexpected and unforeseen attack. She pushed herself up, seeing that it was Malekith, he had returned. The majority of his Elves had been dealt with, she had taken care of them, but the man seemed unperturbed by that information as he merely strode towards the ship, towards where the portals had aligned above him, the convergence was happening now. She struggled to her feet and ran forward, but Malekith had released the Aether, it was swirling around him, surging upwards in a terrible tornado of power, heading for the portals, being sucked into them and infiltrating the Nine Realms at once.

"No," she breathed, pushing herself up and rushing out into the courtyard.

"Thor!" she heard someone shout and turned to see Jane and Erik were at the end of it, Thor rushing up to them.

She let out a breath of relief and ran over to them, "I couldn't stop him," she told him, a grim solemnity to her words.

"We're too late," Jane frowned.

"The convergence is at its peak," Erik agreed.

"Could those things stop it?" Thor nodded to the spikes that Erik held in his hand, three of them, the spikes that had teleported the other Elves to different realms using the anomaly that Jane had found.

"Not from here," Erik shook his head.

"We can't get close enough," Jane elaborated.

Athena and Thor looked at each other and started to grin, "WE can," Athena realized.

Thor held out his hand to Erik, taking the spikes, handing one to Athena as she restrapped her shield to her arm. He gave her a pointed look as he handed it to her, Jane and Erik watching as they seemed to communicate with their eyes, as though they both had an idea of a battle strategy and were agreeing upon it. It made sense, after so many years together, after so many battles fought together, they both likely knew how to assess the situation and determine the best manner of attack.

Athena nodded and took the spike from him, Thor holding two himself, one in each hand, as they turned and made their way to the swirling vortex of Aether.

Thor paused before the edge of it, looking at Athena intently and intensely, "WE can," he agreed, silently thanking her with his eyes for doing this with him, for facing this danger and enemy at his side.

"Always," she smiled at him, leaning in to kiss him quickly before she stepped into the vortex, lifting her shield to help her navigate, even being a warrior, being as muscular as she was, she weighed less than him and the winds were a little harder for her to get through than they would be for him.

Thor straightened, gripping the spikes in his hand, giving Athena a moment of a head start before he stepped into the Aether after her, walking straight ahead, towards the center, where he could just make out Malekith standing, his head back, his arms out, through the red haze, "Malekith!"

The Dark Elf leader turned, grinning when he saw Thor appear before him, "Darkness returns Asgardian," he laughed, "Have you come to witness the end of your universe?"

"I've come to accept your surrender," Thor told him, before throwing one of the spikes like a javelin at the Elf.

Malekith caught it in one hand, only for it to disappear, taking the Elf's hand with it. Thor quickly used his distraction to throw the other spike, nailing the Elf in the other shoulder, it and the creature's arm disappearing as well.

Malekith, however, did not appear at all alarmed by this, "You think you can stop this?" he sneered at Thor, so focused on him that he didn't see Thor's gaze flicker past him, to the other person with a spike sneaking up behind him, "The Aether cannot be destroyed!"

Thor's attention turned back to Malekith, "But you can!" he told the man, holding out his hand as he leapt into the air, summoning Mjolnir to him and flying towards the man.

He could see Athena behind Malekith, the woman reaching up, leaping into the air as well and slamming the spike into the man's back, into his heart, right as Thor caught the hammer and used it to send Malekith blasting backwards towards his ship, impaling him against it…

Malekith disappeared in a flash with the spike, the Aether disappearing with him, the blast sending both Thor and Athena flying back in either direction from the backlash.

They both landed hard on the ground, Athena wincing as she merely rolled on the ground for a short distance before managing to pull herself up. She looked around for Thor, only to see him lying, unmoving in the middle of the courtyard.

"Thor!" she grimaced as she stood, nearly falling over as she felt her leg give out, her knee was rather badly bruised from the landing but she staggered over to him, falling to her knees beside him as gently as she could. She reached out to check on him, breathing a sigh of relief when she saw that he was breathing, merely knocked out

"Thor!" she heard Jane calling, "Athena!"

"Over here!" she shouted back, seeing Jane and Erik entering from one side of the courtyard, Darcy and Ian on the other…before she stiffened, hearing a groaning noise behind her. She slowly turned and nearly sagged when she saw the Dark Elf ship starting to collapse in on itself at the base, teetering towards them, about to fall on her and Thor. She grit her teeth and stood, gripping Thor's forearm tightly and half-dragged him to the side just as the ship began to fall…

Only to disappear in what was left of Jane's spikes still set up and functioning in the courtyard.

Athena sunk to the ground at that, shaking her head at how she'd just pulled him away only for the ship to not even land on them.

Erik grinned as he finished with the controls, having activated the portals, before looking at all of them and smiling calmly, as though the battle hadn't happened, "Everybody ok?"

~8~

Athena frowned as she stood beside Thor, both of them before Odin Allfather as he sat on his golden throne. Thor was speaking softly, sadly, telling his father about the outcome of the battle and their reasons for doing what they had, knowing very well that it could be seen as treason to the man, knowing that the fact that all of the ones he trusted implicitly had been accomplices in the plan would shake the Allfather's trust and perhaps even spark his paranoia. Frigga was not there, and she knew that it was a testament to either how outraged the man was or how broken he was that she had agreed with their plan instead of supporting his decision on the matter. She had seen Sif earlier, as she and Thor had been making their way towards the room, had been told that the woman seemed…lighter in spirits than she had been when they'd left. She hoped that it would mean that Odin would be more lenient, that, in their absence, some sound advice had made it through to the man and that he would see the error in his own plans and understand the reasons for theirs.

She had wished to speak, to help Thor talk about it all, but Odin had forbid her to, and she truly felt terrible for Thor to have to speak of this on his own, to recall that terrible moment when Loki had passed. Even if said brother had proven himself an enemy of Asgard numerous times, at one point he HAD been Thor's brother and for that the recollection of his death would be a horrible thing for Thor to relive. She had dealt with her own fair share of mad siblings and betraying relatives, she understood how difficult it was to talk about it.

She turned her attention back to Odin, eyeing the old man critically, noting that he wasn't quite…holding himself in his typical fashion. At first she had thought, perhaps he was happy they had returned, that he understood their actions and was more at ease with the threat of the Dark Elves destroyed…but that wasn't the case she realized. It was more…HOW he was sitting that was niggling her. He was leaning to one side, almost…lounging, quite unbefitting a manner for such a king and…in a position that was quite familiar for only one other Asgardian.

"Athena," Odin stood, calling her full attention to him as he thumped Gungnir to the ground in the process, "Leave us."

Athena frowned and looked at Thor a moment. He gave her a small nod, thanking her for being there with him as he confronted his father and told him the report of the events, but also telling her it was alright for her to depart, that this was something he had to speak to his father about alone. She gave him a small nod in return, turning to Odin and placing her fist to her heart in respect before she too turned to leave.

Odin waited till the doors had closed behind her, leaving just him and Thor in the room before he focused on his son, "You once said there would never be a wiser King than me," he began, "You were wrong. The alignment has brought all the Realms together. Every one of them saw you offer your life to save them. What can Asgard offer its new King in return?"

"My life," Thor spoke freely, "Father, I cannot be King of Asgard. Not yet. I will protect Asgard and all the Realms with my last and every breath, but I cannot do so from that chair. Loki for all his grave imbalance understood rule as I know I never will. The brutality, the sacrifice…" he shook his head, "It changes you. I'd rather be a good man than a great King."

Odin nodded slowly, "Is this my son I hear? Or the woman he loves?"

Thor gave him a small smile, "I know of only one way to remain unchanged in the face of that brutality and sacrifice. I have not yet obtained it. Perhaps…when I have…I shall feel more ready to take up the throne. But until then father…"

Odin let out a long breath and sat back on the throne, "One son who wanted the Throne too much, another who will not take it. Is this my legacy?"

"Loki died with honor in the end," Thor defended, the last shred he had left of his brother, "I shall try to live the same. Is that not legacy enough?" he looked down at Mjolnir and offered it up to Odin.

But Odin held up his hand, "It belongs to you. If you are worthy of it."

"I shall try to be," Thor agreed.

"I cannot give you my blessing, nor can I wish you good fortune," Odin warned him.

"I know," Thor consented.

"If I were proud of the man my son had become, even that I could not say, I would speak only from my heart," he eyed Thor a long while, "I may not be able to give you my blessing to leave…however," Thor looked up, "I can give you my blessing for the reason you wish to go. For the reason you tried to leave before the Aether was detected."

Thor opened his mouth a moment before closing it, "You are…aware of that?"

Odin smiled, "Go on, my son. And know that…I should be proud of the Queen you have selected for Asgard."

"Thank you father," Thor gave him a smile as well, before he turned to leave the room, Odin watching him go.

A moment after the doors closed, Odin's image shifted, revealing Loki sitting on the throne, Gungnir in his hand, "No," he grinned, "Thank you."

~8~

Thor stood against a tree as he watched Athena sit at the ledge by the waterfall, he knew he'd find her there. He couldn't help but just look at her for a short while, taking her in, sitting there still in her battle armor, her breastplate now on her chest instead of her shield, her shield on her back with her sword strapped to her side. She was leaning over slightly, her hand skimming the surface of the water. Her armguards were off, revealing her charm bracelet that she wore, a gift from her family before she'd left, she'd said once. He was curious now about the charms on it. It seemed like everything she wore and owned related in some way to her family, perhaps the charms did as well.

He felt slightly foolish, as he'd told her when he'd realized who she really was, that he hadn't worked out that she was the Athena that the mortals seemed to think of as the Goddess of Wisdom. He could understand it though, she was the wisest woman he had ever met, she was so skilled in battle which could likely only come from a Goddess of War. He knew a few 'myths' about the woman the mortals thought her to be. When he had been banished to Earth, on the way to the Bifrost to leave, Darcy had told them a few of the more famed myths about 'Athena.'

Arachne, which, he supposed, explained her fear of spiders. If she had turned a woman into one, it would make sense that the woman would be rather unhappy and wish to attack her. Her breastplate, the Aegis, was often thought of as just snakes at first, not many people really noticed carvings and designs on the weapons around them after so long spent wielding them. But it wasn't just snakes, it was a woman's head with snake hair, Medusa, Darcy had called her. Athens, the city founded in her name, and her uncle Poseidon who nearly drowned her whenever she was around water for jealousy and anger that she had won a city he wanted. Even her status as a Virgin Goddess, given some of her past remarks, were explainable, she had been on Earth but never showed interest in men so they assumed she never would, that she didn't ever want to be with a man.

He felt himself grin smugly at how HE had disproved that last thought.

It truly should have made him more suspicious than he had been, even with her golden hair, just her name and how similar she was to the other goddess. But he supposed it was his own fault, before he'd been to Earth, he hadn't even really given much thought to the gods of the other worlds. He had just seen her as another warrior, something he knew she appreciated. But he should have worked this out ages ago. She had even given him clues about it, how her family was so large and how they had so many issues, how they had cut themselves away from the problem, the mortals, and how she understood him. They were similar in so many ways.

But truly, what should have done it, was his banishment. Odin had forbidden any Asgardian access to the Bifrost. The king himself was the only exclusion to that decree. But both Athena and Loki had had access to it. He had taken her word that it had been Odin that had ordered Heimdall to send her to Earth, but what if it hadn't been that? It made sense now, his father, after making that decree, would not be able to go back on it, not even to send her there on his own order. Loki had been able to access it, he was a Jotun. Athena had been able to access it as well…because she was an Olympian.

So much made sense now as well, by his father had been so…open with Athena, how he'd taken her under his wing as a future advisor. What better advisor for a king than a goddess of wisdom herself? It made sense how Athena was even there in the first place. It would be a good connection between worlds to have the woman be like an ambassador of sorts. That they had hosted her and built loyalty and allegiance with the Olympians. His father would only accept someone like that if it was to build connections and this wasn't just between Realms but between Worlds now.

"Are you going to stare at me or join me?" Athena's voice cut into his thoughts.

He chuckled and made his wan over, sitting beside her on the ledge, but snatching her hand as she moved to sit back more, taking it gently as he observed the charm bracelet on her wrist, "Your family?" he guessed.

"Clever boy," she smiled, nodding gently as she began to point out the charms, "Ares," she motioned to a small sword, "Apollo," a lyre, "Artemis," an arrow, "Aphrodite," a heart, "Poseidon, Hades, my father, Zeus," a trident, a skull, a lightning bolt, "My step-mother Hera, Hestia, Demeter," a peacock feather, a small fire, a grain plant, "Hermes, Iris, Persephone," wings, a rainbow, a flower, "Hephaestus, Dionysus," a small hammer, a goblet, "Asc…"

"I understand," Thor chuckled, placing a hand on hers to lower it, there were many more charms on it, more than he was sure he would recognize, "You must miss them."

She shrugged lightly, "At first I did, enormously so," she admitted, "I had never been apart from them for so long. Even when we fought on opposites sides of the Trojan War, we were still gathered together on Olympus. But…I started to enjoy it here," she looked around, "It is lovely Thor and…I _wanted_ to be here. To train at first," she smiled at him, "Then for friends and…and love."

He smiled at that, lifting the hand he was still holding to his lips, "I do love you Athena," he told her.

"And I you," she leaned in and gave him a soft kiss, pulling away to rest her head to his, "How was Odin after I left?" she had to ask, worried for him.

"I have requested two things of father," Thor began, and she knew that it was his way of saying that it had gone better than he thought it would, "The first was…it appears, something he had given his blessing for ages ago."

"And what's that?" she frowned, shaking her head, confused.

"We have been…together, for a short while," he looked at her, lifting his other hand to touch her face, "But…I cannot imagine my life without you Athena. I cannot imagine ruling Asgard without you by my side."

She smiled at that, "Thor I will always be there," she reassured him, "At the very least I would be your advisor and…"

"And at the very most, you would be my queen?" he stated, though it came out more like a question than anything else.

Athena blinked and looked at him, "Your…queen."

He nodded, "I want you with me Athena, in all walks of life," it was only a small voice in his head that reminded him that marriage was the only means where he and Athena would be together even in the afterlife as well, "Facing every challenge I am to face as I would wish to be at your side to face anything you encounter. I can think of no better advisor…than my wife."

Athena let out a soft breath at that, before a gentle laugh followed, "Are you sure you can handle that, almighty Thor?"

He grinned widely, "I love a challenge, wise-Athena."

She leaned in and kissed him again, not even needing to speak the words for him to know that she was accepting. She pulled back a moment later as a thought hit her, "What was the second thing you requested?"

"Freedom," he told her, "To leave Asgard for a short while, to find my way without the pressures of being king just yet."

"Have you an idea of where?" she searched his eyes.

He reached up to touch her face, "I should like to see your world, Athena. I have heard only a few stories of your home…I wish to see it, I wish to see YOU."

Athena beamed at that and kissed him again, "Shall we depart now then?"

He smiled and nodded, standing and offering her a hand up. She turned to the waterfall, to the mist, knowing that if she did this Iris would open the portal to allow them passage back to Olympus. It had taken the woman years to be able to open a portal from this side instead of her home, but she would take this opportunity, to finally be able to share all of her past with Thor and show him who she truly was, where she came from, what her family was like.

If he could still wish to marry her after meeting all of them…he would certainly be the man she wished to spend her long life with.

She saw Iris appear as she held her necklace up to the mist, calling her to open a window, and gave her a pointed nod, the window opening and solidifying to a portal. She squeezed Thor's hand tightly before the two of them stepped through, appearing on the other side. Athena glanced at Thor, seeing his eyes open wide in awe at the land beyond. They were standing on a rainbow bridge of Iris's own making, in the middle of the clouds, a series of stark white pillars and structures rising before them, forming buildings that were so pristine they could only be seen by the light blue of the sky around them.

She turned her gaze to her home once more, recalling a time when she'd wanted nothing more than to be away from it and be somewhere with more life…and now she was rather pleased to be back.

"Beautiful," Thor murmured and she looked back at him, only to flush, seeing he was staring at her now instead.

She blinked though, when she realized that her hair had turned back to brown…and she was now wearing a floor length, sleeveless white, draped gown, "Iris!" she huffed at the woman, knowing she had likely transformed her when she stepped through the portal, but Iris merely giggled and flitted past them, creating a rainbow bridge up to the buildings for them to walk upon.

She reached for a lock of her hair, about to turn it blonde once more when Thor put a hand on hers, "Leave it," he requested, "I wish to know all of you Athena," he reminded her, "Who you truly are."

She smiled and nodded, squeezing his hand before turning to lead him along the bridge, knowing that Iris had likely moved ahead of her to warn her family of her arrival with Thor, who was still dressed in his Asgardian attire, and she could only pray that this would go well.

But, so long as there was no imminent danger in any of the realms that would threaten all their lives…it shouldn't be too bad.

Though she had to smirk, what she wouldn't give to have Sif there beside her when Thor met her father.

To be continued...in...TBA! (I have to wait till the next movie with Thor to be able to title it ;))

A/N: Lol, just imagining Zeus and Thor meeting...oh boy :)

But that's all for Athena till the next movie with Thor in it :) I tend to title the stories based on Athena's skills or qualities. She's the goddess who is often a patron of humility (Thor being banished), the Goddess of War (the battle of New York), and of Strategy (working out the Dark Elves' strategy to save Frigga, etc). So the next story will be based on some sort of quality or characteristic that she favors that is present in the next one ;)

I just wanted to also say thank you to anyone who's read/reviewed/favorited/followed/anything this story :) It really means so much to me that you're enjoying it and I'll do my best to keep it up in the future with the next installment ;) I love you guys so much! :')

Last note...for anyone who's interested, I'll be posting a Doctor Who story featuring an OC who is the Doctor's Wife from Gallifrey in 2 days. I'm going to give 1 day break and then post that story so on the 24th ;)

No real notes on reviews so I'll just say again, I love all of you! ^-^


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